Meinhard Classen

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Meinhard Classen (born August 12, 1936 in Rheydt ; † October 6, 2019 ) was a German internist who specialized primarily in gastroenterology and endoscopy .

Life

Classen studied human medicine in Bonn, Freiburg im Breisgau and Vienna from 1956 to 1962, and received his doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1962 . In 1970 he qualified as a professor at the University of Erlangen and then went as a senior physician at the University Hospital of Erlangen , where he remained until 1974th He then moved to the General Hospital Hamburg-Barmbek as chief physician and stayed there until 1979. From 1979 to 1984 he was professor of internal medicine at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main , then until 2002 at the Technical University of Munich .

In addition to his practical and scientific work, Classen was active in several functions in several scientific societies and committees. In 1980 he was President of the European Congress for Endoscopy and at the same time Vice President of the European Society for Endoscopy - ESGE. In 1987 he became president of the German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Diseases . In 1994 he was President of the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM) and the 100th Congress of DGIM. From 1990 to 1997 Classen was also Vice President of the World Organization of Digestive Endoscopy - OMED and, from 1990 to 1998, Secretary General of the World Organization of Gastroenterology - OMGE and then President of OMGE until 2002.

Act

According to the company, a significant part of Classen's work included the further development of endoscopy. He introduced endoscopic radiological imaging of the pancreas and bile ducts (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, ERCP) and was the first to perform an endoscopic papillotomy (EPT). This tissue removal is now a standard treatment for stones , stenoses and tumors of the bile duct system and the pancreatic duct. He was also formative for the development of endoscopy as a therapeutic discipline. In addition, Classen dealt with tumors of the digestive tract. In 1995 he founded the Gastroenterology Foundation e. V., with whose help he wanted to set up gastroenterological training centers in numerous countries. With Sidney Winawer from New York City , he also founded the International Digestive Cancer Alliance in 2002, which aimed to increase awareness of cancers of the digestive organs. Since 2002 he has organized numerous campaigns against colon cancer in Europe and worldwide and was co-initiator of the study "Large Trial in Linqu County / China" for the prevention of gastric cancer.

honors and awards

Works (selection)

Meinhard Classen was the author and co-author of numerous works on gastroenterology, including:

  • Oscillographic findings in organic nerve and vascular diseases. (Dissertation) Bonn, 1962
  • with Ludwig Demling : Atlas of Enteroscopy Springer Verlag, Berlin and Heidelberg, 1975
  • with Thomas Rösch: Gastroenterologic endosonography. Thieme, Stuttgart 1992
  • Internists and internal medicine in the 20th century. Festschrift on the occasion of the 100th Congress of the German Society for Internal Medicine, 1994
  • with Wolfgang E. Berdel (Ed.): Repetitorium internal medicine. Urban and Fischer, Munich and Jena 2003
  • Differential diagnosis at a glance. Urban and Fischer, Munich and Jena 2002
  • Gastroenterological endoscopy. Thieme, New York 2002

Literature and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The foundation mourns the loss of Prof. Meinhard Classen. LebensBlicke Foundation, October 8, 2019, accessed on October 10, 2010 .
  2. ^ Obituary by Meinhard Classen. FAZ, October 11, 2019, accessed on October 11, 2010 .
personal data
SURNAME Classen, Meinhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German internist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Rheydt
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2019