Leopold Ritter von Dittel by Josef Loewy

Leopold Ritter von Dittel (May 29, 1815 – July 28, 1898) was an Austrian

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. Org ...

born in

Fulnek Fulnek () is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

, a community now located 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 ...

. Dittel received his medical doctorate in 1840 from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, and as a young man worked as a physician in Trentschin-Teplitz. From 1853 to 1857, he was an assistant to Johann von Dumreicher (1815-1880) and a surgical assistant at the university hospital in Vienna. Later, he became surgeon-in-chief of the ''

Allgemeines Krankenhaus The Vienna General Hospital (), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital in Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical University of Vienna. It is Europe's fifth largest hospital, b ...

'', and in 1865 attained the title of associate professor. He is credited for developing a number of innovative diagnostic and surgical practices in the field of

genitourinary The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, are the sex organs of the reproductive system and the organs of the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, their common embryological origin and the us ...

medicine. He is remembered for his pioneer diagnostic work with the

cystoscope Cystoscopy is endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra. It is carried out with a cystoscope. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The cystoscope has lenses like a telescope or microscop ...

, a device that was a recent invention of urologist

Maximilian Nitze Maximilian Carl-Friedrich Nitze (September 18, 1848 – February 23, 1906) was a German urologist born in Berlin. He studied medicine at the Universities of Heidelberg, Würzburg and Leipzig. In 1874 he earned his doctorate, and subsequently bec ...

(1848–1906). In urology, the cystoscope is used for

endoscopic An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are insert ...

detection of

bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...

tumors and other urinary disorders. With Felix Legueu (1863–1939) and Émile Forgue (1860–1943), the "Dittel-Forgue-Legueu operation" is named, defined as a surgical procedure for closure of

vesicovaginal fistula Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is a subtype of female urogenital fistula (UGF). Presentation Vesicovaginal fistula, or VVF, is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder ('' vesica'') and the vagina that allows the continuous involu ...

e (VVF). A medical instrument used for treatment of

stenosis Stenosis () is the abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure such as foramina and canals. It is also sometimes called a stricture (as in urethral stricture). ''Stricture'' as a term is usually used when narrowing ...

of the

urethra The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

known as a " Dittel urethral sound" is named after him.NovoSurgical
Dittel Urethral Sound

Written works

* ''Ueber Klumpfuss'', (1851) - treatise on

clubfoot Clubfoot is a congenital or acquired defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of ca ...

. * ''Skoliose'', (1853) - treatise on

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

* ''Beiträge zur Pathologie und Therapie der Männlichen Geschlechtstheile'', (1859) - Contributions to the pathology and treatment of

male genitalia Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to a ...

. * ''Sekundäre Luxation des Hüftgelenkes'', (1861) - Secondary

dislocation of hip A hip dislocation is when the thighbone (femur) separates from the hip bone (pelvis). Specifically it is when the ball–shaped head of the femur (femoral head) separates from its cup–shaped socket in the hip bone, known as the acetabulum. Th ...

. * ''Der Kathederismus'', (1864) * ''Beitrag zur Lehre der Hypertrophie der Prostata'', in Oesterreichischer Medizinischer Jahrbericht, (1867) - Contribution to the teaching of hypertrophy of the

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

. * ''Der Steinsauger'', in Allgemeine Wiener Medizinische Zeitung, (1870) * ''Die Stricturen der HarnrÖhre'' (in

Franz von Pitha 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 (today ...

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 ...

's Handbuch der Chirurgie), (1872) - Strictures of the urethra. * ''Zur Behandlung der Hypertrophie der Vorsteherdrüse in Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift'', (1876) - For treatment of hypertrophy of the prostate gland. * ''Operationen der Blasensteine'', (1880) - Operations for

bladder stone A bladder stone is a stone found in the urinary bladder. Signs and symptoms Bladder stones are small mineral deposits that can form in the bladder. In most cases bladder stones develop when the urine becomes very concentrated or when one is ...

s. * ''Nierencalculose'', (1881) - kidney calculus.

References

DITTEL, LEOPOLD RITTER VON - JewishEncyclopedia.com

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

, (biography and list of publications by Leopold von Dittel) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dittel, Leopold Ritter von 1815 births 1898 deaths People from Fulnek Physicians from the Austrian Empire Physicians from Austria-Hungary Academic staff of the University of Vienna Moravian-German people People from Austrian Silesia