Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 2053

ROBERT KOCH (1843-1910) Untersuchungen über die Aetiologie der Wundinfectionskrankheiten. F. C. W. Vogel 1878 [4] 80 pp., 5 plates. 22.3 cm.

Without doubt one of the greatest German scientists of any era, Koch was responsible for bringing the young science of microbiology to fruition. The son of a mining engineer, he was born in Klausthal, Germany. He graduated in medicine at Göttingen in 1866 and shortly thereafter served as an army surgeon during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After the war, he settled in Wollstein as a district physician and took up the busy routine of a country practice. In spite of the heavy demands of his practice, he continued to work actively with his microscope, having been deeply influenced by Henle (see No. 1733) during his student years. His work in culturing, staining, and microscopy provided the basis for a variety of tests and procedures which are now standard practice in clinical diagnosis; his identification and isolation of specific bacteria led to new treatment modes for a number of diseases, including anthrax and cholera. Koch was undoubtedly the greatest contributor during the nineteenth century to the understanding of bacterial action. Using techniques he developed himself, Koch described six different bacteria found in wound infections and was able to carry the infections through several generations of animals. As a result of his work he was able to determine the role of bacteria in wound infections and to show the specificity of infection for the first time.

See Related Record(s): 1733

Cited references: Cushing K156; Garrison-Morton 2536; Osler 1687; Waller 5345

Gift of John Martin, M.D.