Dr. Walter Schiller (3 December 1887,

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. ...

– 2 May 1960,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

) was an American

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

. He published primarily in the field of

gynaecological cancer 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 ...

, and described

Schiller's test Schiller's test or Schiller's Iodine test is a medical test in which iodine solution is applied to the cervix in order to diagnose cervical cancer. Procedure Schiller's iodine solution is applied to the cervix under direct vision. Normal cer ...

and Schiller-Duval bodies.

Biography

Walter Schiller was born in Vienna in 1887, the only child of Friedrich and Emma Schiller, who were of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. He studied in Vienna, working as a demonstrator of physiology under

Sigmund Exner Sigmund Exner (also ''Sigmund Exner'', ''Siegmund Exner-Ewarten'', ''Siegmund Exner Ritter von Ewarten''; 5 April 1846 – 5 February 1926) was an Austrian physiologist born in Vienna. Academic career He studied in Vienna under Ernst Wilhelm ...

and pathology under Anton Weichselbaum. He received his 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 ...

in 1912, and worked as a

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

in the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

in the same year. He trained in pathology under Weichselbaum, and was a ''Medizinaloffizier'' in charge of a medical laboratory in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, serving in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. From 1918 to 1921 he was pathologist to the Second Military Hospital of Vienna, where he worked with

Hans Eppinger Hans Eppinger Jr. (5 January 1879, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Royal Bohemia, Austria-Hungary – 25 September 1946, in Vienna) was an Austrian physician of part-Jewish descent who performed experiments upon Nazi concentration camp prisoners. ...

. From 1921 to 1936 he was Director of Laboratories at the second Gynaecological Clinic of the University of Vienna, where he carried out studies on

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...

and developed his eponymous test. He published this work in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

in 1927 and in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

in 1933, and wrote one of the earliest papers on

dysgerminoma A dysgerminoma is a type of germ cell tumor; it usually is malignant and usually occurs in the ovary. A tumor of the identical histology but not occurring in the ovary may be described by an alternate name: seminoma in the testis or germinoma in ...

in 1934. Schiller travelled extensively during the 1930s, lecturing in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1937 he emigrated to the United States with his wife and two daughters due to the threat of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

, working initially at the Jewish Memorial Hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He became Director of Pathology at the

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1938, and started publishing on ovarian tumours in 1939. He described yolk sac tumours, and the Schiller-Duval bodies which had previously been described in rats by

Mathias-Marie Duval Mathias-Marie Duval (7 February 1844 – 28 February 1907) was a French professor of anatomy and histology born in Grasse. He was the son of botanist Joseph Duval-Jouve (1810–1883). Biography He studied medicine in Paris, and later served as ...

References

External links

Image of Dr. Walter Schiller
c. 1937, from

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

American pathologists Austrian pathologists Austrian emigrants to the United States Scientists from Vienna University of Vienna alumni 1887 births 1960 deaths Physicians from Austria-Hungary {{austria-med-bio-stub