Rudolf Kaltenbach (12 May 1842 – 21 November 1893) was a German

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

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. In 1865 he earned his medical doctorate 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 afterwards trained under Johann von Dumreicher (1815-1880) at the surgical hospital 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. ...

. From 1867 to 1873 he was an assistant to

Alfred Hegar Ernst Ludwig Alfred Hegar, ''aka'' Alfred Hegar, was a German gynecologist famous for developing new medical tools and techniques. He was born on 6 January 1830 in Darmstadt, Germany and died on 5 August 1914. He was buried in Breisgau. Hegar was ...

(1830–1914) in Freiburg, and was later a professor of

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

and

obstetrics 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 su ...

at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. In 1887 he became an OB/GYN professor at Halle, where he succeeded

Robert Michaelis von Olshausen Robert Michaelis von Olshausen (3 July 1835 – 1 February 1915) was a German obstetrician and gynecologist. He was born in Kiel and died in Berlin. He was the son of Justus Olshausen (1800–82), a professor of Oriental languages at the Univers ...

(1835–1915). Kaltenbach served in the military during the Austro-Prussian (on the Austrian side) and

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

s. Kaltenbach is remembered for his numerous medical publications, including a book on operative gynecology that he co-authored with Alfred Hegar.''Rudolf Kaltenbach''
translated biography @

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

He is credited with introducing a gynecological graphic aid involving

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...

cycles called the ''Kaltenbachschema'' (Kaltenbach chart).

Selected writings

* ''Operative Gynäkologie'' (with Alfred Hegar) 1874 – operative gynaecology * ''Lehrbuch der Geburtshilfe'',

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

1893 – textbook of obstetrics

References

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an eqyuivalent 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 ...

.''
The Kaltenbach Chart
1842 births 1893 deaths German gynaecologists German obstetricians Physicians from Freiburg im Breisgau People from the Grand Duchy of Baden People of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg {{Germany-med-bio-stub