Wilhelm Fabry (also William Fabry, Guilelmus Fabricius Hildanus, or Fabricius von Hilden) (25 June 1560 − 15 February 1634), often called the "Father of German surgery", was the first educated and scientific German surgeon. He is one of the most prominent scholars in the
iatromechanics
Iatrophysics or iatromechanics (fr. Greek) is the medical application of physics. It provides an explanation for medical practices with mechanical principles. It was a school of medicine in the seventeenth century which attempted to explain phy ...
school and author of 20 medical books. His ''Observationum et Curationum Chirurgicarum Centuriae'', published posthumously in 1641, is the best collection of case records of the century and gives clear insight into the variety and methods of his surgical practice. He developed novel surgical techniques and new surgical instruments. He also wrote a notable treatise on burns.
Fabry developed a device for operating eye tumours.
His wife,
Marie Colinet (or ''Fabry''), was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
midwife-surgeon who improved the techniques of
cesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
delivery. She helped her husband in his surgical practice and was the first (in 1624) to use a magnet to extract metal from a patient's eye (a technique still in use today). Fabry wrote a detailed description of the procedure in his ''Centuriae'' and, although he explicitly mentioned his wife as having invented it, was given credit for the discovery.
Fabry was born in
Hilden
Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numero ...
. His birth town named the city museum (featuring surgical instruments and the like) after him, honoured him with a bronze bust in the market place, and named streets after himself and after his wife.
The city of
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, where he died, named a street after him (''Hildanus''strasse), using one of the Latin versions of his name.
*In 1579 - ''Badergeselle'' (surgeon's mate) in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
of the extraordinary court surgeon
Cosmas Slot.
*On 25 July 1587 - married
Marie Colinet, the daughter of Eustache Colinet, a Genevese printer.
*1602 - 1615 Surgeon in
Payerne
Payerne (; frp, Payèrna) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully. The German name ''Peterlingen'' for the town is out of use.
History
The earl ...
(Switzerland) and
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
.
*1615 - 1634 City Surgeon in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
by appointment of the city council
Works
* ''De Dysenteria : Liber unus: In quo hujus Morbi Causae, Signa, Prognostica, & Praeservatio continentur: Item, quomodo Symptomata, quae huic Morbo supervenire solent, sint removenda'' . de Bry / Galler, Oppenheimii 161
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf
The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of th ...
References
#
Resources
* Georg Becker, Wilhelm Fabry von Hilden (Niederbergische Beiträge vol. 6, ed. Heinrich Strangmeier), Wuppertal 1957 (German)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabry, Wilhelm
1560 births
1634 deaths
German surgeons
16th-century German physicians
17th-century German physicians
16th-century surgeons
17th-century surgeons
17th-century German writers
17th-century German male writers