The medical diagnostic procedure known as Schiller's test emerged from research conducted at the second Gynaecological Clinic of the University of Vienna. Developed to identify cervical cancer, this eponymous test remains a primary contribution by the pathologist who bridged European clinical standards and American laboratory practice during the first half of the twentieth century.
Early Medical Training and Military Service
Walter Schiller was born in Vienna in 1887 to parents Friedrich and Emma Schiller. After completing his studies at the University of Vienna, he earned his doctorate in 1912. His initial professional experiences involved working as a demonstrator of physiology under Sigmund Exner and pathology under Anton Weichselbaum. During the First Balkan War in 1912, he served as a bacteriologist within the Bulgarian Army. Throughout the subsequent global conflict, he acted as a Medizinaloffizier, managing medical laboratories for the Austro-Hungarian Army across deployments in Russia, Turkey, Bosnia, and Palestine.
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Between 1918 and 1921, Schiller served as a pathologist at the Second Military Hospital of Vienna, collaborating with Hans Eppinger. Following this appointment, he transitioned to the University of Vienna, where he functioned as the Director of Laboratories at the second Gynaecological Clinic from 1921 until 1936. During this period, he focused on the study of cervical cancer and ovarian tumours. He authored one of the earliest academic papers regarding dysgerminoma in 1934 and published his findings on cervical diagnostics in German in 1927, followed by an English version in 1933. His professional reputation expanded during the 1930s through lectures delivered in Dublin, England, and the United States.
Migration and American Career
In 1937, Schiller moved to the United States with his wife and two daughters to escape the rise of Nazism. He first secured a position at the Jewish Memorial Hospital in New York City. By 1938, he accepted the role of Director of Pathology at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago. In 1939, he began publishing on ovarian tumours, formally describing yolk sac tumours. During this time, he identified the structures later recognized as Schiller-Duval bodies, which had been previously observed in rat models by Mathias-Marie Duval. He continued his work until his death in 1960 in Evanston, Illinois.
Fast facts
- Born: 1887, Vienna
- Died: 2 May 1960, Evanston
- Education: University of Vienna, 1912
- Citizenship: Austria; United States
- Notable contributions: Schiller's test, Schiller-Duval bodies
- Key academic roles: Director of Laboratories, University of Vienna; Director of Pathology, Cook County Hospital
Questions readers ask
What is Schiller's test?
It is a diagnostic procedure developed by Walter Schiller for detecting cervical cancer.
What are Schiller-Duval bodies?
They are structures associated with yolk sac tumours, described by Schiller in humans after they were identified in rats by Mathias-Marie Duval.
