Franz König (surgeon)
Encyclopedia
Franz König was a German surgeon
who was a native of Rotenburg an der Fulda
. In 1855 he received his doctorate from the University of Marburg, and was later district wound surgeon (Amtswundarzt) in Hanau
. Afterwards he was a professor of surgery at the Universities of Rostock
and Göttingen, and eventually the Charité
Berlin
.
König is largely remembered for his work in bone
and joint
surgery. He was the first physician to identify the relationship between hemophilia and hemophilic arthropathy
, as well as the first surgeon to perform a successful internal fixation of proximal femur
fractures. In 1887, Franz König published a paper on the cause of loose bodies in the joint. In his paper, König concluded:
König named the disease "osteochondritis dissecans
", describing it as a subchondral inflammatory process of the knee, resulting in a loose fragment of cartilage from the femoral
condyle.
Associated eponym:
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
who was a native of Rotenburg an der Fulda
Rotenburg an der Fulda
Rotenburg an der Fulda is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying, as the name says, on the river Fulda.- Geography :- Location :...
. In 1855 he received his doctorate from the University of Marburg, and was later district wound surgeon (Amtswundarzt) in Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
. Afterwards he was a professor of surgery at the Universities of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
and Göttingen, and eventually the Charité
Charité
The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
König is largely remembered for his work in bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
and joint
Joint
A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally.-Classification:...
surgery. He was the first physician to identify the relationship between hemophilia and hemophilic arthropathy
Arthropathy
-Scope:Arthritis is a form of arthropathy that involves inflammation of one or more joints, while the term arthropathy may be used regardless of whether there is inflammation or not.Spondylarthropathy is any form of arthropathy of the vertebral column....
, as well as the first surgeon to perform a successful internal fixation of proximal femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
fractures. In 1887, Franz König published a paper on the cause of loose bodies in the joint. In his paper, König concluded:
- That trauma had to be very severe to break off parts of the joint surface.
- That lesser degrees of trauma might contuse the bone to cause an area of necrosis which might then separate.
- That in some cases, the absence of trauma worth mentioning made it likely that there existed some spontaneous cause of separation.
König named the disease "osteochondritis dissecans
Osteochondritis dissecans
Osteochondritis dissecans , often abbreviated to OCD or OD, is a joint disorder in which cracks form in the articular cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone. OCD is caused by blood deprivation in the subchondral bone. This loss of blood flow causes the subchondral bone to die in a process...
", describing it as a subchondral inflammatory process of the knee, resulting in a loose fragment of cartilage from the femoral
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
condyle.
Associated eponym:
- König's syndromeKönig's syndromeKönig's syndrome is a syndrome of abdominal pain in relation to meals, constipation alternated with diarrhea, meteorism, gurgling sounds on auscultation , and abdominal distension.It is caused by an incomplete obstruction of the small intestine and especially of the ileocecal valve, e.g...
: Various abdominal symptoms caused by an incomplete obstruction of the small intestineSmall intestineThe small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...