Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky
Encyclopedia
Baron Carl von Rokitansky (German
: Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Czech
: Karel Rokytanský) (19 February 1804 – 23 July 1878), was a Bohemia
n physician
, pathologist, humanist philosopher and liberal politician
.
, Bohemia
. He studied at the Charles University in Prague
(1821–1824) and attained a doctorate
in medicine
on 6 March 1828 at the University of Vienna
. As a young professor, he recognized that the still little noted discipline of pathological anatomy could be of great service to clinical work in the hospital
, because it could offer new diagnostic
and therapeutic possibilities to the bed-side physician. With this, after Gerard van Swieten
, who was the founder of the first Vienna School
, Rokitansky released a veritable scientific "revolution". With the establishment of the second Vienna School, a paradigm shift went into effect, led by Rokitansky, Josef Škoda
and Ferdinand von Hebra
, from the notion of medicine as a nature-philosophical subject, to the more modern, scientifically-oriented medicine. In this way associated with the specialization of the medicine and with the development of new disciplines, the Vienna School achieved worldwide reputation.
Rokitansky's name is associated with the following disease
s/morphologic features of disease:
He also developed a method of autopsy
which consisted mainly of in situ dissection. Rokitansky is said "to have supervised 70,000 autopsies, and personally performed over 30,000, averaging two a day, seven days a week, for 45 years".
, he rejected materialism
as a philosophical world view. In his commemorative speech on the occasion of the opening of the Institute of Pathological Anatomy at the General Hospital of Vienna, he warned against the abuse of "natural science liberties". Scientists should first regard humans as "conscious and free-willing subjects" and only then follow their urge toward knowledge. The feeling of humanity
would be lost if physicians regarded human beings purely as research objects. Thus Rokitansky brought up for the first time the question of ethics
in medicine. In another speech about the "solidarity of all animal life", delivered at the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Rokitansky showed his proximity to Arthur Schopenhauer
's writings on compassion
: "if we [... ] preserve and practice compassion", he explained "we are able to alleviate part of the load of suffering" of patients. Human generosity will be shown by our capability to accept the greatest sufferings by voluntarily renouncing aggression
. Those who succeed in this should be our greatest ethical role models.
In 1845, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
. On 17 July 1848 Rokitansky was selected to the be an effective member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1866 he became its vice-president and from 1869 until his death in Vienna
, Austria-Hungary
, on 23 July 1878, its president. Rokitansky felt that this "was the largest honour which I could enjoy".
. He represented liberalism among the educated middle class
and strove for "freedom and progress", both to the university
reform and to the substantial improvement of health sciences. Rokitansky was several times the dean
of the medical school, and, in 1853, the first freely elected rector
of the medical congregation of the University of Vienna
and president of the Superior Medical Council. From 1850 until his death, he also presided the Physician's Society of Vienna, In 1863 he was appointed by Anton von Schmerling as medical adviser to the Ministry of the Interior. On 25 November 1867 he was "unexpectedly and unprepared" nominated by Franz Joseph I to the High Chamber of the Royal Council. Finally, he was elected in 1870 to the presidency of the Anthropological Society.
(1835–1909) and the composer
Victor von Rokitansky (1836–1896).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
: Karel Rokytanský) (19 February 1804 – 23 July 1878), was a Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, pathologist, humanist philosopher and liberal politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Medical career
Carl von Rokitansky was born in Hradec KrálovéHradec Králové
Hradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. He studied at the Charles University in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1821–1824) and attained a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
on 6 March 1828 at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. As a young professor, he recognized that the still little noted discipline of pathological anatomy could be of great service to clinical work in the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, because it could offer new diagnostic
Medical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...
and therapeutic possibilities to the bed-side physician. With this, after Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten was a Dutch-Austrian physician.Van Swieten was born in Leiden. He was a pupil of Hermann Boerhaave and became in 1745 the personal physician of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. In this position he implemented a transformation of the Austrian health service and medical...
, who was the founder of the first Vienna School
Vienna School
Vienna School may refer to:* First Viennese School, 18th century classical music composers in Vienna* Second Viennese School, 20th century composers in Vienna* Vienna School of Art History...
, Rokitansky released a veritable scientific "revolution". With the establishment of the second Vienna School, a paradigm shift went into effect, led by Rokitansky, Josef Škoda
Josef Škoda
Joseph Škoda was a Czech physician, medical professor and dermatologist. Together with Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, he was the founder of the Modern Medical School of Vienna.-Life:...
and Ferdinand von Hebra
Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra
Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra was an Austrian physician and dermatologist,...
, from the notion of medicine as a nature-philosophical subject, to the more modern, scientifically-oriented medicine. In this way associated with the specialization of the medicine and with the development of new disciplines, the Vienna School achieved worldwide reputation.
Rokitansky's name is associated with the following disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s/morphologic features of disease:
- Superior Mesenteric Artery SyndromeSuperior mesenteric artery syndromeSuperior mesenteric artery syndrome is a very rare, life-threatening gastro-vascular disorder characterized by a compression of the third portion of the duodenum by the abdominal aorta and the overlying superior mesenteric artery...
- Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome
- Rokitansky's diverticulum
- Rokitansky's triad (pulmonary stenosis)
- Rokitansky-Aschoff sinusesRokitansky-Aschoff sinusesRokitansky-Aschoff sinuses, also entrapped epithelial crypts, are diverticula or pockets in the wall of the gallbladder. They may be microscopic or macroscopic....
(in the gallbladderGallbladderIn vertebrates the gallbladder is a small organ that aids mainly in fat digestion and concentrates bile produced by the liver. In humans the loss of the gallbladder is usually easily tolerated....
) - Rokitansky-Cushing ulcer
- Rokitansky-Maude Abbott syndrome
- Von Rokitansky's syndrome
- Rokitansky noduleRokitansky noduleIn gynecology, a Rokitansky nodule is a mass or lump in an ovarian teratomatous cyst.-External links:* - geocities.com...
– teratomas
He also developed a method of autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
which consisted mainly of in situ dissection. Rokitansky is said "to have supervised 70,000 autopsies, and personally performed over 30,000, averaging two a day, seven days a week, for 45 years".
Philosophical career
Although Rokitansky defended the "materialistic method" in scientific researchResearch
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, he rejected materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
as a philosophical world view. In his commemorative speech on the occasion of the opening of the Institute of Pathological Anatomy at the General Hospital of Vienna, he warned against the abuse of "natural science liberties". Scientists should first regard humans as "conscious and free-willing subjects" and only then follow their urge toward knowledge. The feeling of humanity
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
would be lost if physicians regarded human beings purely as research objects. Thus Rokitansky brought up for the first time the question of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
in medicine. In another speech about the "solidarity of all animal life", delivered at the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Rokitansky showed his proximity to Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
's writings on compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
: "if we [... ] preserve and practice compassion", he explained "we are able to alleviate part of the load of suffering" of patients. Human generosity will be shown by our capability to accept the greatest sufferings by voluntarily renouncing aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
. Those who succeed in this should be our greatest ethical role models.
In 1845, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
. On 17 July 1848 Rokitansky was selected to the be an effective member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1866 he became its vice-president and from 1869 until his death in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, on 23 July 1878, its president. Rokitansky felt that this "was the largest honour which I could enjoy".
Political career
By way of his leading positions in the most diverse academic and political institutions of the Austrian Empire, Rokitansky helped to shape the era of Austrian high liberalismLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
. He represented liberalism among the educated middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and strove for "freedom and progress", both to the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
reform and to the substantial improvement of health sciences. Rokitansky was several times the dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the medical school, and, in 1853, the first freely elected rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the medical congregation of the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and president of the Superior Medical Council. From 1850 until his death, he also presided the Physician's Society of Vienna, In 1863 he was appointed by Anton von Schmerling as medical adviser to the Ministry of the Interior. On 25 November 1867 he was "unexpectedly and unprepared" nominated by Franz Joseph I to the High Chamber of the Royal Council. Finally, he was elected in 1870 to the presidency of the Anthropological Society.
Personal life
Rokitansky had two sons, the opera singer Hans von RokitanskyHans von Rokitansky
Baron Hans von Rokitansky was an Austrian operatic bass who sang for three decades at the Vienna Hofoper and in concerts and operas throughout Europe between 1856 and 1877.He performed a wide repertoire that encompassed French grand opera, Italian bel canto opera, the German operas of...
(1835–1909) and the composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Victor von Rokitansky (1836–1896).
Literature
- Rumpler, Helmut. Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky. Boehlau Verlag, Vienna. 2006. ISBN 3-205-77205-9
External links
- Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky. WhoNamedIt.