Friedrich Küchenmeister
Encyclopedia
Gottlieb Heinrich Friedrich Küchenmeister (January 22, 1821, Buchheim (now Bad Lausick
) – April 13, 1890 Dresden
) was a German physician.
and Prague
, and in 1846 became a general practitioner in Zittau
. In 1847 he married, and in 1856 he moved to Dresden. He conducted research on tapeworms, trichinosis
, and other parasites and wrote about it several works. He was also publisher of the Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Epidemiologie (General Journal of Epidemiology). In 1852, his theory that bladder-worms are juvenile tapeworms gained the attention of the medical profession. In the later 1850s, he carried out an experiment demonstrating this by feeding pork containing cysticerci of Taenia solium to prisoners awaiting execution, and after they had been executed, he recovered the developing and adult tapeworms in their intestines. By the middle of the 19th century, it was established that cysticercosis was caused by the ingestion of the eggs of T. solium.
Küchenmeister was an advocate of cremation
, as he saw the risk of soil contamination
in the putrefaction
and decomposition
products that occur after burial
. In Dresden, he founded the group The Urn: Association for Facultative Cremation. In 1876, he took part in the first European Congress of the Friends of Cremation, also in Dreseden.
Bad Lausick
Bad Lausick is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km southwest of Grimma, and 29 km southeast of Leipzig.- References :...
) – April 13, 1890 Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
) was a German physician.
Life
Küchenmeister studied medicine in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and 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...
, and in 1846 became a general practitioner in Zittau
Zittau
Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district....
. In 1847 he married, and in 1856 he moved to Dresden. He conducted research on tapeworms, trichinosis
Trichinosis
Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, or trichiniasis, is a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm. There are eight Trichinella species; five are...
, and other parasites and wrote about it several works. He was also publisher of the Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Epidemiologie (General Journal of Epidemiology). In 1852, his theory that bladder-worms are juvenile tapeworms gained the attention of the medical profession. In the later 1850s, he carried out an experiment demonstrating this by feeding pork containing cysticerci of Taenia solium to prisoners awaiting execution, and after they had been executed, he recovered the developing and adult tapeworms in their intestines. By the middle of the 19th century, it was established that cysticercosis was caused by the ingestion of the eggs of T. solium.
Küchenmeister was an advocate of cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, as he saw the risk of soil contamination
Soil contamination
Soil contamination or soil pollution is caused by the presence of xenobiotic chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment....
in the putrefaction
Putrefaction
Putrefaction is one of seven stages in the decomposition of the body of a dead animal. It can be viewed, in broad terms, as the decomposition of proteins, in a process that results in the eventual breakdown of cohesion between tissues and the liquefaction of most organs.-Description:In terms of...
and decomposition
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
products that occur after burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
. In Dresden, he founded the group The Urn: Association for Facultative Cremation. In 1876, he took part in the first European Congress of the Friends of Cremation, also in Dreseden.
External links
- Friedrich Küchenmeister @ Biographisches Lexikon der Oberlausitz (In German)