Antonius Mathijsen

Antonius Mathijsen (November 4, 1805 – June 15, 1878) was a Dutch army surgeon who first used plaster of Paris to fixate broken bones in a plaster cast.

Biography

Early life and education

Antonius Mathijsen was born November 4, 1805, to a village physician in Budel, a Dutch town on the Belgian border. He was educated at hospitals in Maastricht, Brussels and the army medical school in Utrecht.

Career

He received his commission as medical officer 3d class in the Royal Netherlands Army in 1828. In 1838 he participated in the 10-day war of Belgian Revolution.

While working in Haarlem at the military hospital in 1851, Mathijsen first used plaster of Paris as a bandage.Uncle Plaster and the invention of the Orthopedic plaster cast
(in Dutch) Until then a Belgian method was used with starch that took up to a day to dry and harden. Across the street he watched workers repairing cracks in the church with strips of jute dunked in plaster of Paris. He reasoned that a jute bandage soaked in water and plaster of Paris applied in the same way as the Belgian method would harden within a few minutes and thus made a better fixation for broken bones. After testing his idea on chickens he published his findings in a Dutch medical magazine ''Repertorium'' in February 1852.Nieuwe wijze van aanwending van het gips-verband bij beenbreuken: eene bijdrage tot de militaire chirurgie
Volume 1, by Anthonius Matijsen, published by J.B. van Loghem Jr., 1852 In 1853 his idea was praised by a research panel for its value to the military, "especially on the battlefield". Haarlemmers remembered him as "Uncle Plaster" or "Oom Gips".

File:Haarlem Hoofdwacht 001.JPG, The military hospital was located in Hoofdwacht, Haarlem

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