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A German Monograph on the Early History of Anesthesia
BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY
assistant in pathology at the Munich Insti tute of Pathology from 1 9 5 3 to 1955, and in 1955 became Chief of the section of mac roscopic pathology at the Munich City Hos pital. While in training, he met another young assistant, Dr. Helga Berkmann, and he married her in 1 966 after she had fin ished her training in obstetrics and gyne cology. Dr. Helga Fischer-Berkmann still practices gynecology in Wertingen, Bavaria, where she and her husband moved perma nently in 1 994. She had previously done private practice for 25 years in Munich. On December 1, 1 956, Dr. Fischer en listed as a Captain in the newly reconsti tuted German Army (Bundeswehr) . He re mained in the army until his retirement as a Lt. Colonel in 1 9�2. He chose to remain a practicing pathologist and turned down offers for administrative positions with faster promotions to higher ranks, a testi mony to his love of pathology. He initially was Chief of Macroscopic Pathology at the Bundeswehr's Institute for Medicine and Hygiene in Munich. While there h e founded a Museum o f Pathology, made large contributions to its collections and headed numerous seminars and meetings with German and European pathologists, as well as with the American pathologists of the three US Army hospitals in Bavaria. In the mid-1970s, Dr. Fischer was trans-
ferred as C hief of Pa thology to the Bundeswehr's Hospital in Ulm. In 1 977, at the age of 5 5, he passed the examinations qualifying to teach in a faculty of Medicine (habilitation) and started teaching pathol ogy at the University of Ulm. In 1 984, two years after his military retirement, he was made "Special Professor" at the Ulm Uni versity where he continued to teach pathol ogy and philosophy. Until his death, Professor Fischer con tinued to teach in Ulm, to act as a consult ant for the Munich Institute for Legal Medicine, and to write books and articles at his retirement home in Wertingen. While in Wertingen, during the night of October 1 9-20, 1 994, Dr. Fischer died suddenly of what his wife diagnosed as a massive myo cardial infarct. He was 72 and had until then been very active and in apparent good health. Professor Fischer wrote 13 books and 157 articles or book chapters. Among his best known books in Germany are his Pathology of TJ'auma (1 967), his Colour Atlas of Trauma Pathology (in English) (1991), the two vol umes of his Introduction to TJ'aumatology (1993-4), and an Introduction to Philosophy (1994). He also wrote noted books on the German Army Medical Services in WW2, works which took years of patience and in tensive work to research due to the loss of
documents and witnesses in the chaotic last years of the war and the division of Germany: 1 . Erfahrungen deutscher Pathologen im Krieg 1939-1945. Stuttgart, Thieme, 1981 . (Ex perience of German pathologists in WW2) 2 . D i e militarartzliche Akademie 1 934-1945. Munich, Gedon & Reuss, 1 975. (History of the Military Academy of Medi cine from 1 934 to 1 945) 3. Aus den Erfahrungsberichten del' deutschen Beratenden Chirurgen im Krieg 1939-1945. Darmstadt, Wehr & Wissen, 1963. (Extracts from the reports of the German Consulting Surgeons in WW2) 4. Del' deutsche Sanitatsdienst vom 1 921-1945 (6 volumes). Osnabriick, Biblio, 1 982. (The German Army Medical Service from 1921 to 1945) (6 volumes) The last two books contain much mate rial and references on anesthesia, analgesia, administration of blood and fluids, shock and its treatment, management of chest and air way injuries, etc. . . . all of great interest to the historian-anesthesiologist. They have not been translated. Copies exist in our National Library of Medicine. I thank Professors U. Spann and W. Lohrs of Munich University, and more especially Dr. Helga Fischer-Berkmann, Professor Fischer's widow, who generously provided reminiscences and material on Professor Fischer's life and work. Their gracious as sistance is deeply appreciated.
A German Monograph on the Early History of Anesthesia by Ray J. Defalque, M.D. University ofAlabama at Birmingham Since 1 977, the Institute for the History of Medicine of the University of Cologne (Germany) has published monographs on the history of medicine. Its 5 2nd issue (1989), SchmerzlOsigkeit (Analgesia)* is de voted to anesthesia. The book should in terest our members as it offers a profusion of little-known material and references on the introduction of anesthetics on the Con tinent. It reprints the thesis of two candi dates for the MD degree in Cologne. (A. Sokolow and R .. Kundella) and a philo sophical essay on pain by a physician and philosopher (H. Schipperges) : 1. A. Sokolow: "Spread of anesthesia in partitioned Poland from 1 847 to 1 860." Exceeding the narrow confines suggested by his title, the author describes the intro duction and growth of ether and chloro form anesthesia on the Continent before
and during its introduction in Poland. He provides 1 1 3 references, many of them un known to English-speaking anesthetists. He also reprints amusing sketches on "The Marvels of Ether" by the French caricatur ist Cham, published in the "Almanac Comique" of 1 847. 2. R. Kundella: "Contribution to the history oflocal analgesia in dentistry." The author describes and illustrates the vari ous physical and chemical methods of pro ducing oral insensitivity used on the Con tinent from the early 1 850s to 1983, with emphasis on the local anesthetics. The work lists 123 references and reproduces the drawings of various devices used to obtain oral analgesia, which will fascinate any gadgeteer. 3 . The third part "On the Nature of Pain" by H . Schipperges is a short, esoteric
essay on the ontology of pain. Even the non-German-speaking reader will find the bibliography very useful to his/her research. The book may be pur chased (about $30.00) from the Central Library of Medicine of the University of Cologne, Germany. A, R: Kudella * S okolow S chmerzlasigkeit. Zwei Arbeiten z u r Geschichte des Anaesthesie und ein Vortrag von H . S chipperges " Vom Wesen des Schmerzes" (1984) (Analgesia) . Two Works on the history of anesthesia and an essay "On the Nature of Pain." Kaln, Institut fUr Geschichte del' Medizin, 1 9 8 9 . I SBN 3-92534 1-5 1-X
assistant in pathology at the Munich Insti tute of Pathology from 1 9 5 3 to 1955, and in 1955 became Chief of the section of mac roscopic pathology at the Munich City Hos pital. While in training, he met another young assistant, Dr. Helga Berkmann, and he married her in 1 966 after she had fin ished her training in obstetrics and gyne cology. Dr. Helga Fischer-Berkmann still practices gynecology in Wertingen, Bavaria, where she and her husband moved perma nently in 1 994. She had previously done private practice for 25 years in Munich. On December 1, 1 956, Dr. Fischer en listed as a Captain in the newly reconsti tuted German Army (Bundeswehr) . He re mained in the army until his retirement as a Lt. Colonel in 1 9�2. He chose to remain a practicing pathologist and turned down offers for administrative positions with faster promotions to higher ranks, a testi mony to his love of pathology. He initially was Chief of Macroscopic Pathology at the Bundeswehr's Institute for Medicine and Hygiene in Munich. While there h e founded a Museum o f Pathology, made large contributions to its collections and headed numerous seminars and meetings with German and European pathologists, as well as with the American pathologists of the three US Army hospitals in Bavaria. In the mid-1970s, Dr. Fischer was trans-
ferred as C hief of Pa thology to the Bundeswehr's Hospital in Ulm. In 1 977, at the age of 5 5, he passed the examinations qualifying to teach in a faculty of Medicine (habilitation) and started teaching pathol ogy at the University of Ulm. In 1 984, two years after his military retirement, he was made "Special Professor" at the Ulm Uni versity where he continued to teach pathol ogy and philosophy. Until his death, Professor Fischer con tinued to teach in Ulm, to act as a consult ant for the Munich Institute for Legal Medicine, and to write books and articles at his retirement home in Wertingen. While in Wertingen, during the night of October 1 9-20, 1 994, Dr. Fischer died suddenly of what his wife diagnosed as a massive myo cardial infarct. He was 72 and had until then been very active and in apparent good health. Professor Fischer wrote 13 books and 157 articles or book chapters. Among his best known books in Germany are his Pathology of TJ'auma (1 967), his Colour Atlas of Trauma Pathology (in English) (1991), the two vol umes of his Introduction to TJ'aumatology (1993-4), and an Introduction to Philosophy (1994). He also wrote noted books on the German Army Medical Services in WW2, works which took years of patience and in tensive work to research due to the loss of
documents and witnesses in the chaotic last years of the war and the division of Germany: 1 . Erfahrungen deutscher Pathologen im Krieg 1939-1945. Stuttgart, Thieme, 1981 . (Ex perience of German pathologists in WW2) 2 . D i e militarartzliche Akademie 1 934-1945. Munich, Gedon & Reuss, 1 975. (History of the Military Academy of Medi cine from 1 934 to 1 945) 3. Aus den Erfahrungsberichten del' deutschen Beratenden Chirurgen im Krieg 1939-1945. Darmstadt, Wehr & Wissen, 1963. (Extracts from the reports of the German Consulting Surgeons in WW2) 4. Del' deutsche Sanitatsdienst vom 1 921-1945 (6 volumes). Osnabriick, Biblio, 1 982. (The German Army Medical Service from 1921 to 1945) (6 volumes) The last two books contain much mate rial and references on anesthesia, analgesia, administration of blood and fluids, shock and its treatment, management of chest and air way injuries, etc. . . . all of great interest to the historian-anesthesiologist. They have not been translated. Copies exist in our National Library of Medicine. I thank Professors U. Spann and W. Lohrs of Munich University, and more especially Dr. Helga Fischer-Berkmann, Professor Fischer's widow, who generously provided reminiscences and material on Professor Fischer's life and work. Their gracious as sistance is deeply appreciated.
A German Monograph on the Early History of Anesthesia by Ray J. Defalque, M.D. University ofAlabama at Birmingham Since 1 977, the Institute for the History of Medicine of the University of Cologne (Germany) has published monographs on the history of medicine. Its 5 2nd issue (1989), SchmerzlOsigkeit (Analgesia)* is de voted to anesthesia. The book should in terest our members as it offers a profusion of little-known material and references on the introduction of anesthetics on the Con tinent. It reprints the thesis of two candi dates for the MD degree in Cologne. (A. Sokolow and R .. Kundella) and a philo sophical essay on pain by a physician and philosopher (H. Schipperges) : 1. A. Sokolow: "Spread of anesthesia in partitioned Poland from 1 847 to 1 860." Exceeding the narrow confines suggested by his title, the author describes the intro duction and growth of ether and chloro form anesthesia on the Continent before
and during its introduction in Poland. He provides 1 1 3 references, many of them un known to English-speaking anesthetists. He also reprints amusing sketches on "The Marvels of Ether" by the French caricatur ist Cham, published in the "Almanac Comique" of 1 847. 2. R. Kundella: "Contribution to the history oflocal analgesia in dentistry." The author describes and illustrates the vari ous physical and chemical methods of pro ducing oral insensitivity used on the Con tinent from the early 1 850s to 1983, with emphasis on the local anesthetics. The work lists 123 references and reproduces the drawings of various devices used to obtain oral analgesia, which will fascinate any gadgeteer. 3 . The third part "On the Nature of Pain" by H . Schipperges is a short, esoteric
essay on the ontology of pain. Even the non-German-speaking reader will find the bibliography very useful to his/her research. The book may be pur chased (about $30.00) from the Central Library of Medicine of the University of Cologne, Germany. A, R: Kudella * S okolow S chmerzlasigkeit. Zwei Arbeiten z u r Geschichte des Anaesthesie und ein Vortrag von H . S chipperges " Vom Wesen des Schmerzes" (1984) (Analgesia) . Two Works on the history of anesthesia and an essay "On the Nature of Pain." Kaln, Institut fUr Geschichte del' Medizin, 1 9 8 9 . I SBN 3-92534 1-5 1-X