Franz Schuh (17 October 1804,

Scheibbs Scheibbs () is a town in Austria in the Scheibbs (district), Scheibbs district of Lower Austria. In 1886, it became the first town in Austria to have street lighting powered by electricity. Population Mayors *1950-1965: Anton Herok *1965-1983: ...

Scheibbs District Bezirk Scheibbs is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria. Municipalities Suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters. * Gaming ** Altenreith, Brettl, Gaming, Gamingrotte, Hofrotte, Hol ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

– 22 December 1865) was an

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

who was a native of

. In 1831 he obtained his medical doctorate in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, afterwards serving as an assistant to

Joseph Wattmann File:Joseph von Wattmann.jpg, Joseph Wattmann (1789-1866) Joseph Wattmann von Maëlcamp-Beaulieu (6 March 1789, Ebensee, Oberlangbath – 14 September 1866) was an Austrian surgeon. He studied medicine at the surgical academy associated with Vien ...

(1789–1866). In 1836 he worked as a professor at the Lyceum in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, returning to Vienna the following year as primary surgeon at the

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

. In 1841 he became an associate professor in Vienna, where in 1842, he was appointed head of the second surgical clinic. In Vienna, he was a colleague of physician

Joseph Škoda Joseph Škoda (; 10 December 1805 – 13 June 1881) was a Czech-born Austrian physician, medical professor and dermatologist. Together with Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, he was the founder of the Modern Medical School of Vienna. Life Škoda ...

(1805–1881), and an instructor to Austrian-American dermapathologist Carl Heitzmann (1836–1896). He died in December 1865 from a malignant fever and blood poisoning, possibly due to a septic infection. Franz Schuh was a medical pioneer who advanced scientific surgical practices in Vienna. He is remembered for his

pathophysiological Pathophysiology (or physiopathology) is a branch of study, at the intersection of pathology and physiology, concerning disordered physiological processes that cause, result from, or are otherwise associated with a disease or injury. Pathology is ...

research and his investigations of new surgical methods. In 1840 he is credited with performing the first successful

pericardiocentesis Pericardiocentesis (PCC), also called pericardial tap, is a medical procedure where fluid is aspirated from the pericardium (the sac enveloping the heart). Anatomy and physiology The pericardium is a fibrous sac surrounding the heart composed o ...

( pericardiac aspiration), and in January 1847, he was the first Austrian physician to use

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

as an

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

on a human patient.JAMA
Surgery in Austria In 1906, the thoroughfare ''Franz-Schuh-Gasse'' in the

Favoriten Favoriten (; ), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also la ...

district of Vienna was named in his honor.

Selected writings

* ''Pathologie und Therapie der Pseudoplasmen'' (Pathology and therapy of the "pseudo plasmas"), 1854 * ''Abhandlungen auf dem Gebiet der Chirurgie und Operationslehre'', (Articles of surgery and operative lessons), 1867.

References

* This article incorporates information based on a translation of an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia, whose listing includes: *
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
*
Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuh, Franz Physicians from the Austrian Empire Surgeons Austrian pathologists People from Scheibbs District 1804 births 1865 deaths