Franz Freiherr von Pitha (born ''Jiří František Piťha'', 8 February 1810 – 29 December 1875) was an Austrian surgeon. He was rector of the Charles University in Prague in 1854–1855.

Biography

Pitha was born in Řakom near

Klatovy Klatovy (; german: Klattau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Klatovy is made up of 30 ...

(today part of Dolany in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). In 1836 he received his medical doctorate at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, and was later a professor of surgery at

Charles University in Prague Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

, and at Josephs Academy (Josephinum) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he was chair of surgery from 1857 to 1874. During the

Italian Wars of Independence The War of Italian Independence, or Italian Wars of Independence, include: * First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849) *Second Italian War of Independence (1859) *Third Italian War of Independence (1866) * Fourth Italian War of Independence ( ...

, Pitha was chief of field medical services. In this role he made advancements in Austrian military hygiene, and also gained experience regarding battle-related injuries. He published a treatise titled ''Verletzungen und Krankheiten der Extremitäten'' (Injuries and Diseases of the Extremities), as a result of his war-time experiences. Pitha was instrumental in acquiring a position for

Theodor Billroth Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (26 April 18296 February 1894) was a German surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and conf ...

(1829–1894) at the medical faculty in Vienna, and with Billroth he published an important textbook on surgery called ''Handbuch der allgemeinen und speciellen Chirurgie mit Einschluss der topographischen Anatomie, Operations- und Verbandlehre'' (Textbook of General and Specialized Surgery with the Inclusion of Topographical Anatomy, Operations and Bandaging Skills). Pitha was knight of the Order of Leopold and recipient of the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

2nd class. He was ennobled in 1859 and raised to the baronial rank in January 1875. He had three daughters with his wife Emilia née Barter.Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser, 1919, str. 728

References

External links

*
Archives of Surgery
Surgery in Austria

(text concerning "Handbuch der allgemeinen und speciallen Chirurgie") 1810 births 1875 deaths People from Klatovy District Austrian surgeons Academic staff of Charles University Barons of Austria {{Europe-noble-stub