Friedrich Fehleisen () (1854–1924) was a German surgeon whose work focused on streptococcal bacteria. Dr. Fehleisen's work played a necessary role in the eventual uncovering of the

etiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, ...

of many streptococcal illnesses. He made integral contributions to modern medicine's understanding of the ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' organism. He was born in

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

, in 1854, and died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in 1924.

''S. pyogenes'' and erysipelas

In 1883, he became the first person to culture and collect ''

Streptococcus pyogenes ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus '' Streptococcus''. These bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains. They ...

'', which causes

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...

and other streptococcal illnesses. He cultured it from peri

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright red rash, ...

lesions on humans. One year later, the organism received its current name from Rosenbach. German physician Friedrich Loeffler subsequently demonstrated the presence of streptococci in the throats of patients with scarlet fever. Additionally, Dr. Fehleisen uncovered the

of erysipelas, which is an acute streptococcal bacterial infection of the upper

dermis The dermis or corium is a layer of skin between the epidermis (with which it makes up the cutis) and subcutaneous tissues, that primarily consists of dense irregular connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. It is divided ...

and superficial

lymphatics The lymphatic vessels (or lymph vessels or lymphatics) are thin-walled vessels (tubes), structured like blood vessels, that carry lymph. As part of the lymphatic system, lymph vessels are complementary to the cardiovascular system. Lymph vessel ...

. His literature "''Die Aetiologie Des Erysipels''", which was originally published in 1883, outlines his findings.

Cancer immunotherapy

Following his discovery of ''S. pyogenes'' being the causative agent of erysipelas, Fehleisen repeated Busch experiments inoculating sarcoma patients with it, noting regression in many of them. His first patient, a 58 man with a

fibrosarcoma Fibrosarcoma (fibroblastic sarcoma) is a malignant mesenchymal tumour derived from fibrous connective tissue and characterized by the presence of immature proliferating fibroblasts or undifferentiated anaplastic spindle cells in a storiform pat ...

of the gluteus, got a significant remission, although the very high fever of 41°C made Fehleisen question the utility of this method as a therapy. Fehleisen observations later inspired

William Coley William Bradley Coley (January 12, 1862 – April 16, 1936) was an American bone surgeon and cancer researcher best known for his early contributions to the study of cancer immunotherapy. Although his work was not proven effective in his lifeti ...

to try the method on his patients and eventually developing

Coley's toxins Coley's toxins (also called Coley's toxin, Coley's vaccine, Coley vaccine, Coley's fluid or mixed bacterial vaccine) is a mixture containing toxins filtered from killed bacteria of species ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' and ''Serratia marcescens'', na ...

''S. pyogenes'' and erysipelas

Cancer immunotherapy

References

Further reading