Paul Leopold Friedrich was a German

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

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...

 born in the town of Roda

Stadtroda

Stadtroda is a town of 6,293 people, located in Thuringia, Germany. Stadtroda lies on the Roda river, a tributary of the Saale....

, Saxe-Altenburg

Saxe-Altenburg

Saxe-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia.-History:The duchy originated from the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland , a possession of the Wettin Margraves of Meissen since 1243...

.

In 1888 he received his doctorate at the University of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

, and as a young assistant worked under Robert Koch

Robert Koch

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis , the Tuberculosis bacillus and the Vibrio cholerae and for his development of Koch's postulates....

 at the Reich Health Office in 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...

. Later he practiced surgery at the Universities of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

 (1896), Greifswald (1903), Marburg (1907) and Königsberg

University of Königsberg

The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....

 (1911). At Greifswald

Greifswald

Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...

 he succeeded August Bier

August Bier

August Karl Gustav Bier was a German surgeon and a pioneer of spinal anaesthesia. After professorships in Greifswald and Bonn, Bier became a professor at the Charité in Berlin.-Spinal anesthesia:...

 as director of the Surgical University Hospital. Two of Friedrich's well-known assistants were Ferdinand Sauerbruch

Ferdinand Sauerbruch

Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch was a German surgeon.Sauerbruch was born in Barmen , Germany. He studied medicine at the Philipps University of Marburg, the University of Greifswald, the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and the University of Leipzig, from the last of which he graduated in 1902...

 (1875-1951) and Martin Kirschner

Martin Kirschner

Martin Kirschner was a German surgeon, born 28 October 1879 in Breslau, died on 30 August 1942 in Heidelberg.Kirschner was the son of Margarethe Kalbeck, sister of Max Kalbeck, and Judge Martin Kirschner , who later served as city councillor of Breslau since 1873 and a member of the city...

 (1879-1942).

Friedrich was skilled in all aspects of surgery

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...

, including pioneer work regarding thoracic surgery

Thoracic surgery

Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm....

. He is remembered for his studies of wound treatment and his efforts to reduce 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...

l infections. Through experimentation he demonstrated the importance of debridement

Debridement

Debridement is the medical removal of a patient's dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue...

 (removal of infected tissue) within a six-hour time limit. He also did extensive work with diseases such as peritonitis

Peritonitis

Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...

 and tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

. He is credited for introducing the practice of using smooth rubber gloves during surgery.