Eduard Georg von Wahl ( in Wattel – in Dorpat) was a Baltic German

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

. He was born in Wattel (now Valta,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( et, Pärnu maakond or ''Pärnumaa''; german: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the nor ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

) in the Governorate of Estonia . In 1859 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Dorpat, where he was a student of

Friedrich Bidder Georg Friedrich Karl Heinrich Bidder ( – ) was a Baltic German physiologist and anatomist from what was then the Governorate of Livonia in the Russian Empire. In 1834 he received his doctorate from the University of Dorpat, where he became a ...

(1810-1894) and

Hermann Guido von Samson-Himmelstjerna Hermann Guido von Samson-Himmelstjerna; name sometimes given as Guido Samson von Himmelstiern (, Korast – , Dorpat) was a Baltic German physician and professor of ''Staatsarzneikunde'' (state pharmacopoeia). From 1826 he studied medicin ...

(1809-1868). He continued his education in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and in 1860 relocated to St. Petersburg, where he opened a private medical practice and worked as a hospital surgeon. From 1867 he was head surgeon at the Prinz Peter von Oldenburg children's hospital. In 1878 he became a professor of surgery at Dorpat, where he served as university

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

from 1881 to 1885. In addition to his surgical duties, he was at the forefront in the fight against

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and sexually transmitted diseases from a public and medical standpoint.

Written works

* ''Ueber Fracturen der Schädelbasis'' (On fractures at the base of the skull), in

Richard von Volkmann Richard von Volkmann (17 August 1830 – 28 November 1889) was a prominent German surgeon and author of poetry and fiction. Some of his works were illustrated by his son, Hans, a well known artist. Biography He was born in Leipzig on 17 Augus ...

's "Sammlung Klinischer Vorträge, Nr. 228, (1883) * ''Krankheiten der Knochen und Gelenke'' (Diseases of bones and joints), in Carl Gerhardt's Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten, VI. Bd. 2. Abth. S. 396. 2.

References

Pagel: Biographical Encyclopedia of outstanding physicians of the nineteenth century
(translated biography) * Parts of this article are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

.
Index catalogue of the library of the surgeon-general's office 1895
(list of publications) 1890 deaths 1833 births People from Lääneranna Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Surgeons from the Russian Empire Rectors of the University of Tartu {{Estonia-academic-bio-stub