Harald Hirschsprung

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Harald Hirschsprung (born December 14, 1830 in Copenhagen , † April 11, 1916 ) was a Danish pediatrician .

family

Harald Hirschsprung was the eldest son of the German-born Jewish businessman Abraham Marcus Hirschsprung (1793–1871) and his wife Petra, b. Hertz (1804-1891). The father founded a tobacco business in Copenhagen in 1826 under the name AM Hirschsprung & Sønner, which his son Harald was originally to take over. Because the father recognized other interests in his eldest son, the brothers Bernhard (1834–1909) and Heinrich (1836–1908) took over the father's company in his place. His brother Heinrich Hirschsprung was also active as a patron and art collector and both founder and namesake of Den Hirschsprungske Samling .

Study and job

From 1848 to 1855 Harald Hirschsprung studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen. During his studies he specialized in gastrointestinal diseases ( gastroenterology ). His dissertation - submitted on May 11, 1861 - he wrote about the congenital occlusion of the esophagus ( esophageal atresia ).

From 1870 Hirschsprung worked in a hospital for newborns. As a result of this activity he established himself as the first pediatrician in the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1879 he became chief physician in the newly founded Queen Louisa Children's Hospital, which was able to achieve an international reputation due to its intensive research on pediatrics .

At the Berlin congress of the Society for Pediatrics in 1886, Harald Hirschsprung gave a lecture entitled Newborns with sluggishness due to dilation and hypertrophy of the colon . The appearance of Megacolon congenitum , which he described for the first time, is also called Hirschsprung's disease ( Hirschsprung's disease ).

In 1891 Harald Hirschsprung was appointed professor of paediatrics. The special form of his teaching activity included lessons on Sunday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

literature

  • Fritz Brüning: On the etiology and therapy of Hirschsprung's disease . In: Negotiations of the German Society for Surgery (49th meeting from April 15-18, 1925). Springer, Berlin 1925, pp. 435-448.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hirschsprung, Harald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish pediatrician
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1916