Richard Julius Ernst Frommel (16 July 1854 – 6 April 1912) was a German

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

who was a native of

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 ...

. In 1877 he received his medical doctorate at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

, and for the next ten years worked 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. ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

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 ...

. At Berlin he was an assistant to gynecologist

Karl Ludwig Ernst Schroeder Karl Ludwig Ernst Friedrich Schroeder (11 September 1838, Neustrelitz – 7 February 1887, Berlin) was a German gynecologist . He studied medicine at the Universities of Würzburg and Rostock. He earned his doctorate in 1864, subsequently serving ...

(1838–1887). From 1887 until 1901 he was director of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. Despite a successful career in gynecology, Frommel abruptly retired from medicine in 1901 at the age of 46. Frommel is known for his pioneer work in treatment of ruptured

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these sympto ...

. A surgical technique known as the "Frommel operation" is used as treatment for retroversion of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

. This surgery involves shortening the uterosacral ligaments via the abdominal route. 2009 ICD-9-CM With

Johann Baptist Chiari Johann Baptist Chiari (15 June 1817 – 11 December 1854) was an Austrian gynecologist and obstetrician born in Salzburg. In 1841 he received his medical doctorate at Vienna, where he subsequently practiced obstetrics and gynecology for most of h ...

(1817–1854), the eponymous " Chiari-Frommel Syndrome" is named. This condition is a rare

endocrine The endocrine system is a messenger system in an organism comprising feedback loops of hormones that are released by internal glands directly into the circulatory system and that target and regulate distant organs. In vertebrates, the hypotha ...

disorder that affects women who have recently given birth. It is also known as

postpartum The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

galactorrhea Galactorrhea ( also spelled galactorrhoea) ( galacto- + -rrhea) or lactorrhea ( lacto- + -rrhea) is the spontaneous flow of milk from the breast, unassociated with childbirth or nursing. Galactorrhea is reported to occur in 5–32% of females. ...

amenorrhea Amenorrhea or amenorrhoea is the absence of a menstrual period in a female organism who has reached reproductive age. Physiological states of amenorrhoea are most commonly seen during pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding). In humans, it is wher ...

syndrome.

References

* ''This article incorporates translated text from an 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 ...

''.
Chiari-Frommel Syndrome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frommel, Richard 1854 births 1912 deaths German gynaecologists German obstetricians Physicians from Augsburg Physicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria University of Würzburg alumni