- Friedrich Trendelenburg
Friedrich Trendelenburg (
May 24 1844 –December 15 1924 ) was a Germansurgeon and son of the philosopherFriedrich Adolf Trendelenburg . A number of medical treatments and terminologies have been named for him.Trendelenburg was born in
Berlin and studiedmedicine at theUniversity of Glasgow andUniversity of Edinburgh . He completed his studies at theCharité underBernhard von Langenbeck , receiving his doctorate in 1866. He practiced medicine in Rostock and Bonn, and in 1895 he became surgeon-in-chief in Leipzig.He is perhaps best remembered for the
Trendelenburg position in which the patient is placed on a bed which is put into incline such that the patient's head is lower than his feet. Trendelenburg first used this technique in 1881 for an abdominal surgery.He is also known for inventing
Trendelenburg's cannula , acannula used during surgery of thelarynx to prevent the patient from swallowing blood during the operation.Trendelenburg was interested in the surgical removal of
pulmonary embolism s. His student,Martin Kirschner , performed the first successfulpulmonary embolectomy in 1924, shortly before Trendelenburg's death.Trendelenburg invented treatment of
varicose vein s which involved ligation of thesaphenous vein . This became known as theTrendelenburg operation but this term may also apply to pulmonary embolectomy.Trendelenburg's test describes a test forvaricose vein s as well as a test to assess hip mobility.The
Brodie-Trendelenburg percussion test (also accredited to Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie) is a test for incompetent valves in superficialvein s.Trendelenburg's symptom is a sign of congenital dislocation of the hip.Trendelenburg was interested in the history of surgery. He founded the
German Surgical Society in 1872.He died in 1924 of cancer of the
mandible , aged 80.References
* [http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/976.html Who Named It: Friedrich Trendelenburg]
* [http://www.surgical-tutor.org.uk/default-home.htm?surgeons/trendelenberg.htm~right Surgical-Tutor.org]
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