Karl Heinrich August von Burow (10 November 1809 in Elbing – 15 April 1874 in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

) was a 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 ...

and

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, 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. Followin ...

. From 1830 he studied at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...

, where his influences included Ludwig Wilhelm Sachs,

Karl Ernst von Baer Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer Edler von Huthorn ( – ) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and is considered a, or the, founding father of embryology. He was ...

and

Karl Friedrich Burdach Karl Friedrich Burdach (12 June 1776 – 16 July 1847) was a German physiologist. He was born in Leipzig and died in Königsberg. He was the first to use the word "biology" and was a pioneer of neuroanatomy. Life Burdach came from a family of ...

. In 1839, he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

and in 1844 became an associate professor. In 1846, he opened a private medical clinic in Konigsberg, in which he specialized in ophthalmology and surgery. In 1859, he resigned his professorship and became a ''Sanitätsrat'' (medical officer). In 1866 he was a consultant physician to the army of

Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel (24 February 180917 June 1885) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War, and the first Imperial Lieutenant (german: Reichsstatthalter) of Alsace–Lorra ...

, and in 1870 he performed in a similar role to the army of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia.ADB:Burow, Karl August
In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

(ADB). Band 3, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, S. 629 f. He was the first surgeon in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

to perform

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 ...

's surgery for

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

. He is also credited for introducing new methods of

blepharoplasty Blepharoplasty (Greek: ''blepharon'', "eyelid" + ''plassein'' "to form") is the plastic surgery operation for correcting defects, deformities, and disfigurations of the eyelids; and for aesthetically modifying the eye region of the face. With t ...

and

cheiloplasty Cheiloplasty osurgical lip restoration(from gr, χείλος ''kheilos'' – "lip") is the technical term for surgery of the lip usually performed by a plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, recons ...

. The term "Burow's triangle" is defined as a triangle of skin and subcutaneous fat excised so that a pedicle flap can be advanced without buckling the adjacent tissue. Burow was a passionate advocate of open wound treatment.

Burow's solution Burow's solution is an aqueous solution of aluminium triacetate. It is available in the U.S. as an over-the-counter drug for topical administration, with brand names including Domeboro (Moberg Pharma), Domeboro Otic (ear drops), Star-Otic, and Bor ...

is a preparation of aluminium subacetate and

glacial acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component ...

. It has astringent and antiseptic properties and is used for various skin conditions.

Selected works

* ''Beiträge zur Physiologie und Physik des menschlichen Auges'', 1841 – Contributions to the physiology and physics of the human eye. * ''Resultate der Beobachtung an 137 Schieloperationen'', 1844 – Observations of 137 strabismus surgeries. * ''Beschreibung einer neuen Transplantations-Methode : Methode der seitlichen Dreiecke'', 1855 – Description of a new transplant method (method of lateral triangles). * ''Ein neues Optometer : Mit 3 lithogr. Tafeln'', 1863 – A new optometer: with 3 lithographs. * ''Über die Reihenfolge der Brillen-Brennweiten'', 1864 – On the sequence of eyeglass

focal length The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foca ...

s.Most widely held works by Karl Heinrich August Burow
WorldCat Identities

Selected works

References

Further reading