Ádám Politzer
For a long period of time Vienna was the Otolaryngology capital of the world. My father’s teacher, Professor Eduardo de Moraes, who taught other famous Brazilian otolaryngologists – Ermiro de Lima, Octacilio Lopes and Arthur Sá, among others – was trained in Vienna. The older otolaryngologists in São Paulo, Henrique Lindenberg, Francisco Hartung, Antonio de Paula Santos e Raphael da Nova, also studied in Vienna. I do not know how many American otolaryngologists studied in Vienna, but I know that Max Goldstein, who created The Laryngoscope and founded the Central Institute for the Deaf went to Vienna in search of more knowledge.
The man responsible for establishing in Vienna this famous school of Otolaryngology was Ádám Politzer.
Politzer was born in 1835 in Alberti, near Budapest. He belonged to a well established Jewish family that provided him with an excellent education.
He studied medicine in the University of Vienna, graduating in 1859. Working with the physiologist Carl Ludwig, he became interested in studying the physics of the auditory system. He was the first to demonstrate the innervation of the tensor tympani and stapedial muscles.
In 1860 he traveled to several countries, seeking to increase the depth of his knowledge. He worked with Anton Friedrich Freiherr von Troeltsch, Heinrich Müller and Albert von Kölliker, in Würzburg; Hermann Helmholtz, in Heidelberg; Rudolf Körni, Prosper Ménière and Claude Bernard, in Paris, and Joseph Toynbee, in London.
In 1861 he returned to Vienna and became Professor of Otology at the University of Vienna. In the same ear he published his first results on a new technique to treat middle ear diseases by insufflation through the Eustachian tube, which for many years was used throughout the world.
In 1863 he opened a private otological clinic, in collaboration with Josef Gruber, and began to attract patients from all over the world. In 1895 Politzer became a Full Professor and directed the Otolaryngology clinics until 1907. He died in 1920, at the age of 85, celebrated as a pioneer of modern otology in the History of Medicine.
Politzer invented many medical instruments for the diagnosis and treatment of ear diseases. Several ear surgical instruments bear his name. He created the ventilation tubes for the aeration of the middle ear after paracentesis and created an otoscope, that led to the present day otoscopes.
The first observation that the middle ear ossicles vibrate to sound stimuli was made by Politzer. He was also the first to describe, in 1893, that otosclerosis was a separate clinical entity, not related to middle ear infections. He studied the pathology of cholesteatoma, serous otitis media, labyrinthitis, congenital deafness and intracranial complications of otitis media. In 1918 he published a paper stressing the need for magnification in order to diagnose serous otitis media.
The instrument for measuring hearing in his time was the pocket watch. Politzer, however, felt that there were many differences in tone and intensity in different watches, so he designed, in 1913, an “acoumeter,” an instrument that ticked like a watch but could be standardized, being heard at known distances by normal subjects. The acoumeter also permitted to test the patients both by air and bone could be measured.
He revolutionized the clinical diagnosis of ear diseases by the inspection of the illuminated tympanic membrane with magnification. He created the first illustrated atlas of the tympanic membrane, with color drawings made by himself and published, in 1878, the Lehrbuch der Ohrenheilkunde, which continued through many editions and became the standard authority for years, becoming the most important otologic textbook of the 19th century.
Together with von Troeltsch and Hermann Schwartze he founded the Archiv für Ohrenheilkunde, the first journal dedicated to ear disorders.
Let me quote one of his biographers, Albert Mudry, on Adam Politzer:
He influenced and trained thousands of otologists from all over the world.
His most famous successor was Robert Bárány, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1914.
In 1971 a group of otologists founded the Politzer Society, a very active society in the field of Otology who meets every year. Its last meeting was held in Antalya, Turkey; the next one will be held in Niigata, Japan.
Mudry A. The role of Adam Politzer (1835-1920) in the history of otology. Am J Otol. 2000; 21: 753-63.
The man responsible for establishing in Vienna this famous school of Otolaryngology was Ádám Politzer.
 |
| Ádám Politzer |
He studied medicine in the University of Vienna, graduating in 1859. Working with the physiologist Carl Ludwig, he became interested in studying the physics of the auditory system. He was the first to demonstrate the innervation of the tensor tympani and stapedial muscles.
In 1860 he traveled to several countries, seeking to increase the depth of his knowledge. He worked with Anton Friedrich Freiherr von Troeltsch, Heinrich Müller and Albert von Kölliker, in Würzburg; Hermann Helmholtz, in Heidelberg; Rudolf Körni, Prosper Ménière and Claude Bernard, in Paris, and Joseph Toynbee, in London.
In 1861 he returned to Vienna and became Professor of Otology at the University of Vienna. In the same ear he published his first results on a new technique to treat middle ear diseases by insufflation through the Eustachian tube, which for many years was used throughout the world.
In 1863 he opened a private otological clinic, in collaboration with Josef Gruber, and began to attract patients from all over the world. In 1895 Politzer became a Full Professor and directed the Otolaryngology clinics until 1907. He died in 1920, at the age of 85, celebrated as a pioneer of modern otology in the History of Medicine.
Politzer invented many medical instruments for the diagnosis and treatment of ear diseases. Several ear surgical instruments bear his name. He created the ventilation tubes for the aeration of the middle ear after paracentesis and created an otoscope, that led to the present day otoscopes.
The first observation that the middle ear ossicles vibrate to sound stimuli was made by Politzer. He was also the first to describe, in 1893, that otosclerosis was a separate clinical entity, not related to middle ear infections. He studied the pathology of cholesteatoma, serous otitis media, labyrinthitis, congenital deafness and intracranial complications of otitis media. In 1918 he published a paper stressing the need for magnification in order to diagnose serous otitis media.
The instrument for measuring hearing in his time was the pocket watch. Politzer, however, felt that there were many differences in tone and intensity in different watches, so he designed, in 1913, an “acoumeter,” an instrument that ticked like a watch but could be standardized, being heard at known distances by normal subjects. The acoumeter also permitted to test the patients both by air and bone could be measured.
He revolutionized the clinical diagnosis of ear diseases by the inspection of the illuminated tympanic membrane with magnification. He created the first illustrated atlas of the tympanic membrane, with color drawings made by himself and published, in 1878, the Lehrbuch der Ohrenheilkunde, which continued through many editions and became the standard authority for years, becoming the most important otologic textbook of the 19th century.
 |
| Drawings of the tympanic membrane by Ádám Politzer - Google Books |
Together with von Troeltsch and Hermann Schwartze he founded the Archiv für Ohrenheilkunde, the first journal dedicated to ear disorders.
Let me quote one of his biographers, Albert Mudry, on Adam Politzer:
All areas of otology have been studied, compiled, and improved through his assorted publications, notably his atlas of otoscopy published in 1865, the first work of its kind, expanded and reedited in 1896; his 10 tables of the anatomy of the ear amended in 1873; his textbook of the diseases of the ear, which was first published in two volumes in 1878 and 1882 and subsequently reedited four times as one volume, the last time being in 1908; his anatomy and histology book published in 1889; and his book on the history of otology, which up to now is the most complete tome existing on the subject, edited in two volumes in 1907 and 1913... Politzer is certainly the greatest otologist of the 19th century and probably one of the greatest of all time.
He influenced and trained thousands of otologists from all over the world.
His most famous successor was Robert Bárány, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1914.
In 1971 a group of otologists founded the Politzer Society, a very active society in the field of Otology who meets every year. Its last meeting was held in Antalya, Turkey; the next one will be held in Niigata, Japan.
Mudry A. The role of Adam Politzer (1835-1920) in the history of otology. Am J Otol. 2000; 21: 753-63.
Comments
Post a Comment