Georg Perthes
Encyclopedia
Georg Clemens Perthes was a German
surgeon
and X-ray
diagnostic pioneer who was born in Moers
, Germany.
, and later was a surgeon in Bonn
and Leipzig
where he worked with Friedrich Trendelenburg
(1844-1924). In 1910 he succeeded Paul von Bruns
(1846-1916) as head of the surgical clinic at Tübingen
. In 1900-01 he was a military surgeon at the German colonial seaport of Tsingtao (today known as Qingdao
, China).
Perthes' primary area of research involved radiological
treatment and therapy. He pioneered the use of radiology for the treatment of warts, skin cancer
and breast carcinoma
s. Today he is best known for a child illness named Perthes' disease, also known as Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome
, a degenerative disease of the hip joint. Perthes took the first X-rays of a patient with this syndrome in 1898; however, his findings weren't published until several years later. While in Tsingtao, he had the opportunity to perform radiological studies on the feet of Chinese women that had been subjected to the traditional practice of being crushed and bound.
As a surgeon Perthes made several contributions, including a procedure of suction drainage for empyema
, and the use of a pneumatic cuff for hemostasis
during limb surgeries. Also, a test for evaluating the competence of deep femoral vein
s prior to varicose vein surgery is called the "Perthes test
" (this test is sometimes referred to as the "Delbet-Mocquot test", named after French physicians Pierre Delbet
(1861-1957) and Pierre Mocquot 1879-1963). Perthes died of a stroke in 1927 in Arosa
, Switzerland.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
and X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
diagnostic pioneer who was born in Moers
Moers
Moers is a German city on the left bank of the Rhine. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel...
, Germany.
Biography
In 1891 he received his medical doctorate from the University of BonnUniversity of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, and later was a surgeon in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Leipzig
Leipzig
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...
where he worked with Friedrich Trendelenburg
Friedrich Trendelenburg
Friedrich Trendelenburg was a German surgeon. He was son of the philosopher Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg, father of the pharmacologist Paul Trendelenburg and grandfather of the pharmacologist Ullrich Georg Trendelenburg.Trendelenburg was born in Berlin and studied medicine at the University of...
(1844-1924). In 1910 he succeeded Paul von Bruns
Paul von Bruns
Paul von Bruns was a German surgeon. He was born in Tübingen to surgeon Victor von Bruns. His father-in-law was Protestant theologian Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker....
(1846-1916) as head of the surgical clinic at Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
. In 1900-01 he was a military surgeon at the German colonial seaport of Tsingtao (today known as Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
, China).
Perthes' primary area of research involved radiological
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
treatment and therapy. He pioneered the use of radiology for the treatment of warts, skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
and breast carcinoma
Carcinoma
Carcinoma is the medical term for the most common type of cancer occurring in humans. Put simply, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that generally arises from cells originating in the endodermal or ectodermal germ layer during...
s. Today he is best known for a child illness named Perthes' disease, also known as Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome
Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome
Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome is a degenerative disease of the hip joint, where growth/loss of bone mass leads to some degree of collapse of the hip joint and to deformity of the ball of the femur and the surface of the hip socket...
, a degenerative disease of the hip joint. Perthes took the first X-rays of a patient with this syndrome in 1898; however, his findings weren't published until several years later. While in Tsingtao, he had the opportunity to perform radiological studies on the feet of Chinese women that had been subjected to the traditional practice of being crushed and bound.
As a surgeon Perthes made several contributions, including a procedure of suction drainage for empyema
Empyema
Pleural empyema is an accumulation of pus in the pleural cavity. Most pleural empyemas arise from an infection within the lung , often associated with parapneumonic effusions. There are three stages: exudative, fibrinopurulent and organizing. In the exudative stage, the pus accumulates...
, and the use of a pneumatic cuff for hemostasis
Hemostasis
Hemostasis or haemostasis is a process which causes bleeding to stop, meaning to keep blood within a damaged blood vessel . Most of the time this includes blood changing from a liquid to a solid state. Intact blood vessels are central to moderating blood's tendency to clot...
during limb surgeries. Also, a test for evaluating the competence of deep femoral vein
Femoral vein
In the human body, the femoral vein is a blood vessel that accompanies the femoral artery in the femoral sheath. It begins at the adductor canal and is a continuation of the popliteal vein...
s prior to varicose vein surgery is called the "Perthes test
Perthes test
The Perthes test is a clinical test for assessing the patency of the deep femoral vein prior to varicose vein surgery. It is named after German surgeon Georg Perthes....
" (this test is sometimes referred to as the "Delbet-Mocquot test", named after French physicians Pierre Delbet
Pierre Delbet
Pierre Delbet was a French surgeon who was born in La Ferté-Gaucher. In 1889 he received his medical doctorate, and in 1909 became a professor of clinical surgery in Paris. In 1921 he became a member of the Académie de Médecine....
(1861-1957) and Pierre Mocquot 1879-1963). Perthes died of a stroke in 1927 in Arosa
Arosa
Arosa is a town and a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort.-History:...
, Switzerland.
Written Works
- Über den Einfluss der Röntgenstrahlen auf epitheliale Gewebe, insbesondere auf das Carcinom. in von Langenbeck’s Archiv für klinische Chirurgie, Berlin, 1903, 71: 955-1000
- Über Operationen bei habitueller Schulterluxation. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie, Leipzig, 1906, 85: 199-227
- Verletzungen und Krankheiten der Kiefer. Deutsche Chirurgie 33a, Stuttgart, 1907; second edition by Eduard Kurt Borchers, 1932
- Über Arthritis deformans juvenilis. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie, Leipzig, 1910, 107: 111-159
- Chirurgia externa. In: Handbuch der gesamten Therapie. 4. Aufl., Volume 6, Jena 1911
- Die Chirurgie der Zähne, des Zahnfleisches und der Kiefer. In: Handbuch der praktischen Chirurgie, 4. Aufl., Volume 1, Stuttgart, 1913; 6. Aufl. 1926 (with Oskar Römer)
- Über den Tod. Tübingen 1920; 2. Aufl. Stuttgart 1927
- Über plastischen Daumenersatz insbesondere bei Verlust des ganzen Daumenstrahles. Archiv für orthopädische und Unfall-Chirurgie, München 1921, 19: 198-214