Franz Dittrich was an Austrian pathologist born in Nixdorf

Mikulášovice

Mikulášovice is a town in the Czech Republic.Mikulášovice is a city with 2.375 inhabitants in the Czech Republic. The elongated village in the valley of the brook Mikulášovický is 414 m above sea level in the west of the Bohemian low country near the border with Germany and belongs to the Okres...

, 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 medicine at the University of Prague

Charles University in Prague

Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...

 under Joseph Hyrtl (1810-1894), receiving his doctorate in 1841. He continued his studies 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...

, and in 1842 returned to 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...

, where he worked as a medical assistant with Anton von Jaksch

Anton von Jaksch

Anton Ritter Jaksch von Wartenhorst was an Austrian physician born in Wartenberg am Rollberg, Bohemia...

 (1810-1887) and Franz Kiwisch von Rotterau

Franz Kiwisch von Rotterau

Franz Kiwisch von Rotterau was Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Würzburg and later at the University of Prague. He was one of Semmelweis's principal opponents. In Würzburg he was succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm Scanzoni von Lichtenfels.A native of Klattau in Bohemia, he earned his...

 (1814-1852). He later served as prosector

Prosector

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology....

, and in 1848 succeeded Anton Dlauhy (1807-1888) as professor of pathological anatomy. In 1850 he succeeded Karl Friedrich Canstatt

Karl Friedrich Canstatt

Karl Friedrich Canstatt was a German physician and medical author. He was one of the pioneers of the modern school of medicine in Germany, and numbered Professor Rudolf Virchow among his pupils. Canstatt studied at the University of Vienna and later under Schönlein at Würzburg, where in 1831 he...

 (1807-1850) as director at the medical clinic in Erlangen. In 1856 Dittrich succumbed to brain disease that ultimately lead to his death a few years later.

From 1845 Dittrich published reports on his activities in the Prague faculty journal, Vierteljahrsschrift für praktische Heilkunde. Topics that he covered in the journal included stomach cancer

Stomach cancer

Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...

, syphilis

Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...

 of the liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

, heart stenosis

Stenosis

A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure.It is also sometimes called a stricture ....

, et al. His name is associated with the following two eponyms:

• Dittrich's plugs: Minute, foul-smelling masses of bacteria
  Bacteria
  Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
  
  , granular debris and fatty acid crystals found in the sputum in fetid bronchitis
  Bronchitis
  Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
  
   and pulmonary gangrene
  Gangrene
  Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
  
  .
• Dittrich's stenosis: Stenosis of the conus arteriosus
  Conus arteriosus
  The conus arteriosus is a conical pouch formed from the upper and left angle of the right ventricle in the chordate heart, from which the pulmonary trunk arises....