Clemens von Pirquet belongs to the medical record as a figure whose work changed what could be treated.
The record lists Clemens von Pirquet as Austrian physician (1874-1929).
Clemens von Pirquet was born at Hirschstetten in 1874. His recorded nationality is Austria. He trained at University of Innsbruck and Theresianum.
Anaesthesia, antisepsis and germ theory arrived within fifty years and made modern surgery possible for the first time.
His posts were held at University of Vienna and University of Wrocław.
The recorded fields of work are immunology and bacteriology.
Medicine advances against a moving target, and its successes are counted in lives rather than papers.
That the work was done from Austria matters: hospitals, training and research funding are unevenly distributed, and they decide which questions can be asked.
Clemens von Pirquet died in 1929, aged 55. What survives is the change in practice, which is how a medical life is actually measured.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Vienna and University of Wrocław
- Fields: immunology and bacteriology
