Maximilian Oberst (October 6, 1849 – November 18, 1925) was a German physician 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 ...

born in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. He studied medicine in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and from 1874 to 1877 was an assistant in the surgical department at a hospital in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. From 1877 he worked as an assistant to Richard von Volkmann at Halle, obtaining his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1881. In 1884 became an assistant professor at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, and from 1894 to 1920 was director and chief physician at the Krankenhaus Bergmannstrost in Halle. In 1919 he attained the title of ''professor ordinarius'' (full professor). He is credited for introducing a method of block

anesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

("Oberst-block") for use in minor surgery of the

finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

.Getting It Right in Science and Medicine
by Hans R. Kricheldorf In 1882 he publishe
''Die Amputationen unter dem Einflusse der antiseptischen Behandlung''
("Amputations under the influence of

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

treatment").

References

Catalogus-professorum-halensis
(translated biography) *''Parts of this article are based on a translation of the equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

''.

External links

Anesthesiology History of the Development and Evolution of Local Anesthesia Since the Coca Leaf. German surgeons Scientists from Regensburg Academic staff of the University of Halle 1849 births 1925 deaths German anesthesiologists {{Germany-med-bio-stub