History of otorhinolaryngology in Germany before 1921

Abstract

In 2021, the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its foundation. The aim of this article is to present the main inventions and progress made in Germany before 1921, the date the society was founded. Three chronological periods are discernible: the history of otorhinolaryngology (ORL) in Germany until the beginning of the 19th century, focusing mainly on the development of scattered knowledge; the birth of the sub-specialties otology, laryngology (pharyngo-laryngology and endoscopy), and rhinology in the 19th century, combining advances in knowledge and implementation of academic structures; and the creation of the ORL specialty at the turn of the 20th century, mainly concentrating on academic organization and expansion. This period was crucial and allowed for the foundation of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery on solid ground. Germany played an important role in the development and progress of ORL internationally in the 19th century with such great contributors as Anton von Tröltsch, Hermann Schwartze, Otto Körner, Rudolf Voltolini, and Gustav Killian to mention a few.

The Laryngologist Who Saved the Brooklyn Bridge

“…The new specialty of Laryngology was evolving around Germany at the time. Johann Friedrich Hermann Albers had written his treatise on laryngeal pathology in Bonn, Philip Bozzini had visualized the larynx, and Louis Waldenburg was experimenting with esophagoscopy in Berlin 2 . At Charité Hospital in Berlin, Smith worked under the famed pathologist Rudolph Virchow and began an English translation of Virchow's textbook Cellular Pathology .…”

Wo kommen wir her? Wo stehen wir? Wo gehen wir hin?

“…Mehr zur Geschichte finden Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Zeitschrift HNO [ 33 ] mit Beiträgen zur deutschen HNO-Geschichte bis zur Gründung unserer Fachgesellschaft 1921 und weiter ab 1921 [ 28 , 29 ], aber auch zur Geschichte der deutschsprachigen HNO-Zeitschriften [ 42 ] und zur internationalen Vernetzung unserer Fachgesellschaft [ 32 ]. Hinweisen möchte ich auch auf zahlreiche Publikationen von Harald Feldmann zur Geschichte der HNO-Heilkunde (z.…”

Where do we come from? Where are we? Where are we going?

“…More about the history can be found in the current issue of the journal HNO (ENT) [ 33 ], with articles on the German history of otorhinolaryngology up to the foundation of our professional society in 1921 and further from 1921 onward [ 28 , 29 ], the history of German-language ENT journals [ 42 ], and the international networking of our society [ 32 ]. I would also like to refer to numerous publications by Harald Feldmann on the history of otorhinolaryngology (e.g., [ 9 – 12 ]) and to the overview article by Karl Heinz Vosteen on the “Development of Otorhinolaryngology in the 19th Century,” which appeared in 1996 in the anniversary volume on the academic teaching institutions and teachers in otorhinolaryngology [ 46 ], as well as to the published commemorative lecture of Konrad Fleischer on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the society in 1996 [ 13 ].…”