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Semmelweis, Ignaz Philipp |
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Semmelweis, Ignaz Philipp (ĭg`näts fē`lĭp zĕm`əlvīs), 1818–65, Hungarian physician. He was a pioneer in employing asepsis. While on the staff of the general hospital in Vienna, he recognized the infectious nature of puerperal fever and insisted that attendants in obstetrical cases thoroughly cleanse their hands; he thus greatly reduced the mortality rate from infection in childbirth. Ridicule of his belief caused him to leave Vienna (1854) for Pest, Hungary, and ultimately drove him to insanity and suicide. He recorded his results in The Cause, Concept, and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever (1861, tr. 1941), but the value of his work was not fully recognized until c.1890.
BibliographySee biographies by L. F. Destouches (tr. 1937) and J. Rich (1961). How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-65), a Hungarian obstetrician educated at the universities of Pest and Vienna, introduced antiseptic prophylaxis into medicine. And while ostracized by his 19th-century medical colleagues, and little celebrated today, Hungarian Physician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis will forever hold a place of great historical importance, for he taught healtcare workers to wash their hands before approaching women in childbirth. |
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