Franz Freiherr von Pitha (born ''Jiří František Piťha'', 8 February 1810 – 29 December 1875) was an Austrian surgeon. He was rector of the Charles University in Prague in 1854–1855.

Biography

Pitha was born in Řakom near

Klatovy Klatovy (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Administr ...

(today part of Dolany in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). In 1836 he received his medical doctorate at

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, and was later a professor of surgery at

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

, and at Josephs Academy (Josephinum) 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. ...

, where he was chair of surgery from 1857 to 1874. During the Italian Wars of Independence, Pitha was chief of field medical services. In this role he made advancements in Austrian military hygiene, and also gained experience regarding battle-related injuries. He published a treatise titled ''Verletzungen und Krankheiten der Extremitäten'' (Injuries and Diseases of the Extremities), as a result of his war-time experiences. Pitha was instrumental in acquiring a position for

Theodor Billroth Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (26 April 18296 February 1894) was a German surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and conf ...

(1829–1894) at the medical faculty in Vienna, and with Billroth he published an important textbook on surgery called ''Handbuch der allgemeinen und speciellen Chirurgie mit Einschluss der topographischen Anatomie, Operations- und Verbandlehre'' (Textbook of General and Specialized Surgery with the Inclusion of Topographical Anatomy, Operations and Bandaging Skills). Pitha was knight of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

and recipient of the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

2nd class. He was ennobled in 1859 and raised to the baronial rank in January 1875. He had three daughters with his wife Emilia née Barter.Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser, 1919, str. 728

References

External links

*
Archives of Surgery
Surgery in Austria

(text concerning "Handbuch der allgemeinen und speciallen Chirurgie") 1810 births 1875 deaths People from Klatovy District Physicians from the Austrian Empire Heads of universities and colleges Surgeons Academic staff of Charles University Austrian barons {{Europe-noble-stub