Johann Nepomuk Rust (5 April 1775 – 9 October 1840) was an Austrian

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 ...

and military physician born at

Jánský Vrch Jánský Vrch (german: Schloß Johannesberg) is a castle located in the Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. The castle stands on a hill above the town of Javorník in the north-western edge of Czech Silesia, in area wh ...

, Javorník,

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

(today 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 ...

Biography

He studied medicine in

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 ...

, earning his degree in

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

in 1799 and a doctorate in surgery in 1800. Afterwards he worked briefly 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 ...

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 later taught classes at the Lyceum in Olomouc. From 1803 to 1810 he was a professor of surgery at the

University of Kraków The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, where he established a local surgical clinic. In 1810 he was named chief surgeon at the ''

Allgemeines Krankenhaus The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Univer ...

'' in Vienna.''Archiv der Europäischen Lexikographie:Geschichte der Medizin''
Johann Nepomuk Rust's Theoretical-practical textbook of surgery by Michael Stolberg In 1815 he became a member of the Prussian military as a physician. The following year he became director of the new surgical/

ophthalmological Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

clinic at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

, as well as adjunct professor at the medical-surgical military academy in Berlin. In 1822 he was awarded with the military title of

Generalstabsarzt Generalstabsarzt and Admiralstabsarzt are in German armed forces the rank designations of the second highest grad of the generals rank group. Germany Bundeswehr Generalstabsarzt and Admiralstabsarzt are the second highest general ranks of the ...

(Surgeon General), and in 1824 became a full professor at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. In 1834, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. In 1837 he was appointed director of surgical and

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

studies at the university. Among his literary works was a highly acclaimed multi-volume textbook on surgery titled "''Theoretisch-praktisches Handbuch der Chirurgie, mit Einschluss der syphilitischen und Augen-Krankheiten''" (1830–1836). In 1816 he became editor of the "''Magazins für die gesammte Heilkunde''". Towards the end of his career, he suffered from failing eyesight, and consequently most of his later surgical operations were performed by

Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1 February 1792 – 11 November 1847) was a German surgeon. He was born in Königsberg and died in Berlin. Dieffenbach specialized in skin transplantation and plastic surgery. His work in rhinoplastic and maxillo ...

(1792–1847). He died in 1840 on his estate Schloss Kleutsch oday: Kluczowanear

Ząbkowice Śląskie Ząbkowice Śląskie ( ; german: link=no, Frankenstein in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnske Zůmbkowicy) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County and of a local municipality called ...

in Silesia, Prussia.

Associated eponym

* Rust's disease:

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

of the two upper

cervical vertebra In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sau ...

e and their articulations; synonymous to tuberculous spondylitis.Mondofacto Dictionary
(definition of eponym)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rust, Johann Nepomuk 1775 births 1840 deaths People from Javorník Austrian surgeons Austrian military doctors Charles University alumni Jagiellonian University faculty Humboldt University of Berlin faculty Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Prussian Army personnel German people of Austrian descent People from Austrian Silesia Physicians of the Charité Palacký University Olomouc faculty