Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1998

MAX JOSEPH OERTEL (1835-1897) Die Pathogenese der epidemischen Diphtherie nach ihrer histologischen Begründung. F. C. W. Vogel 1887 x, 185 pp. 24.6 cm.

Oertel, a physician and laryngologist from Munich, was the first to examine the vocal folds of a living human with a stroboscope of his own design. His stroboscope had a perforated and electrified disk, a siren to aid in adjusting speed and vocal tone, and a small telescope for magnification of the object under study. Using this device, he examined the vibrations of the vocal folds and observed the mechanics of speech and sound production. Oertel was also well known for his writings on disorders of the heart and circulatory system as well as on the treatment of obesity. Oertel played an important role in the development of knowledge about diphtheria by successfully reproducing the disease in rabbits. By swabbing their throats with exudates obtained from human cases of diphtheria, he was able to produce the characteristic false membranes. Although his experiments were a valuable contribution, he did not determine the specific microbe that caused the disease. It was Klebs who discovered the causative bacteria in 1883 and Loeffler who cultured the bacillus and reproduced the disease the following year. The University of Iowa Libraries' copy is lacking the atlas volume of sixteen plates.

Gift of John Martin, M.D.