Rudolf Heidenhain is remembered in medicine for work that altered practice rather than merely argument.
The record lists Rudolf Heidenhain as German physiologist and university professor (1834-1897).
Rudolf Heidenhain was born at Kwidzyn in 1834. His recorded nationality is German Reich. He trained at University of Königsberg and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
Anaesthesia, antisepsis and germ theory arrived within fifty years and made modern surgery possible for the first time.
His posts were held at Frederick William University Berlin, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and University of Wrocław.
The recorded fields of work are physiology.
Most medical progress is invisible: it shows up as an illness that no longer kills anyone.
Recognition followed: Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class, Cothenius Medal (1884) and Baly Medal (1889).
That the work was done from German Reich matters: hospitals, training and research funding are unevenly distributed, and they decide which questions can be asked.
Rudolf Heidenhain died in 1897, aged 63. What survives is the change in practice, which is how a medical life is actually measured.
Achievements
- Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class
- Cothenius Medal — 1884
- Baly Medal — 1889
- Held posts at Frederick William University Berlin, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and University of Wrocław
- Fields: physiology
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