Friedrich Wegener
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Wegener was a German pathologist who is notable for his description of a rare disease
... Although this disease was known before Wegener's description, since the 1950s it has been called by the name Wegener's granulomatosis
.
Wegener joined the Nazi Party in 1932. As a relatively high ranking military doctor he spent some of World War II
in a medical office three blocks from the Lodz Ghetto, a Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. There is speculation that he participated in experiments on concentration camp inmates.
The American College of Chest Physicians
(ACCP) awarded Wegener a “master clinician” prize in 1989. After his Nazi past was discovered in 2000, the ACCP rescinded
the prize and, separately, a campaign was begun to rename Wegener's granulomatosis
to ANCA-associated granulomatous vasculitis. More recently, several journals proposed the name 'granulomatosis with polyangiitis' in a 2011 editorial .
Rare disease
A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.Most rare diseases are genetic, and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear...
... Although this disease was known before Wegener's description, since the 1950s it has been called by the name Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis , more recently granulomatosis with polyangiitis , is an incurable form of vasculitis that affects the nose, lungs, kidneys and other organs. Due to its end-organ damage, it is life-threatening and requires long-term immunosuppression...
.
Wegener joined the Nazi Party in 1932. As a relatively high ranking military doctor he spent some of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in a medical office three blocks from the Lodz Ghetto, a Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. There is speculation that he participated in experiments on concentration camp inmates.
The American College of Chest Physicians
American College of Chest Physicians
The American College of Chest Physicians is a medical organization in the United States consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, thoracic surgery, and critical care medicine....
(ACCP) awarded Wegener a “master clinician” prize in 1989. After his Nazi past was discovered in 2000, the ACCP rescinded
Rescission
In contract law, rescission has been defined as the unmaking of a contract between parties. Rescission is the unwinding of a transaction. This is done to bring the parties, as far as possible, back to the position in which they were before they entered into a contract .-In court:Rescission is an...
the prize and, separately, a campaign was begun to rename Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis , more recently granulomatosis with polyangiitis , is an incurable form of vasculitis that affects the nose, lungs, kidneys and other organs. Due to its end-organ damage, it is life-threatening and requires long-term immunosuppression...
to ANCA-associated granulomatous vasculitis. More recently, several journals proposed the name 'granulomatosis with polyangiitis' in a 2011 editorial .