Max Westenhöfer
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Max Westenhöfer (February 9, 1871 – September 25, 1957) was a German
pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...
and
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
who contributed to the development of the
anatomic pathology Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...
and the reform of public health in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
.


Education

Maximilian Joseph Johann WestenhöferMr and Mrs Bender
/ref> was born on February 9, 1871, in Ansbach,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. His father was a school teacher called Johan Karl Westenhöffer, but the son later simplified the spelling of his surname. His mother's maiden name was Knell,Sievers Wicke (1958) page 53 and in later years her name was sometimes appended to his according to the Spanish naming custom. making his name Max Westenhöfer Knell. He studied 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 ...
where he graduated in 1894. He was a pupil of Rudolf Virchow, German physician and Professor of Pathology at the University of Berlin, known also for his interest in
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
. His first employment was as an army doctor, which he remained, apart from three years in Chile, until 1922.Sievers Wicke (1958) page 54


First tenure in Chile (1908–1911): Social medicine report and expulsion

In 1908 he was hired by Augusto Matte, on behalf of the government of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, to teach
Pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
at the School of Medicine of the University of Chile. As an international expert with the role to reform and modernize the teaching of pathology in Chile, he was provided by the Chilean government with a higher salary than that of his local medical colleagues, leading to envy and resentment among some Chilean physicians.Revistas Universidad de Chile (In Spanish)
/ref> In 1911 he published what has been called the ''Westenhöfer Report'', a five-part series published in the German medical journal ''Berliner klinische Wochenschrift'' where he described in critical terms the poor health conditions and hygiene practices that he observed in certain urban areas and nursing homes in Santiago of Chile. His report led to protests from the conservative sector of the Chilean societ, eventually causing the government to deport him from Chile. However, the
University of Chile Student Federation The University of Chile Student Federation (''Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile'' bbr. FECh is an organization that represents all the students enrolled in undergraduate and post-graduate courses at the University of Chile. T ...
(FECH) including his medical students, some unions, and leftist parties gave public support to Prof. Westenhöffer and protested his expulsion. In August 1911 there was a massive march in Santiago of Chile to protest his expulsion and make a judicial appeal to prevent it, but it did not take place until after he had left.


Return to Germany (1911–1929): Professor of pathology at the University of Berlin

Following his departure in 1911 he returned to Germany and resumed his career with the army. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he served as a military surgeon with the rank of major (''Oberstabsarzt'')WW1 pay-book
/ref> and was awarded the
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
, second class.Iron Cross award
/ref> In 1922 he became Professor of Pathology at the University of Berlin.Precarious Matters:The History of Dangerous and Endangered Substances in the 19th and 20th Centuries
/ref> At this time he was also deputy chairman of the Berlin ''Gesellschaft für Rassenhygiene'' (
German Society for Racial Hygiene The German Society for Racial Hygiene (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rassenhygiene) was a German eugenic organization founded on 22 June 1905 by the physician Alfred Ploetz in Berlin. Its goal was "for society to return to a healthy and bloomi ...
).


Second tenure in Chile (1929–1932): Reform of Chilean pathology

He returned to Chile in 1929 and for three years directed the Department of Pathology at the Medical School of the University of Chile. This was his most fruitful period in furthering the development and the quality of Chilean medicine. He modernised the practice of pathology and trained Chilean colleagues. Pathology institutes were founded in the hospitals in Santiago and Valparaiso. His stress on the social determinants of mortality and morbidity influenced a generation of students, including Salvador Allende, a medical student activist and later President of Chile. While in Chile, after studying the incidence of
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
he contributed to the ongoing controversy about the origin of this disease. Westenhöfer observed little effect of the disease in Indian carriers and the terrible effects experienced by those of European origin who were infected, leading him to propose that a corresponding
STD Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...
had been present in America before the European conquest.


Back to Germany (1932–1948): Publication of the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis

He returned again to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
where he spent the war years, living latterly in retirement in
Wasserburg am Bodensee Wasserburg am Bodensee is one of the three Bavarian municipalities on the shores of Lake Constance. It is a well known resort, sought out for the supposedly healthy nature of its atmosphere. Geography Parts of the municipality The community is m ...
.Sievers Wicke (1958) page 93 From 1923 onwardsCentre d'Etude et de Recherche sur la Bipédie Initiale
he wrote several books and papers on
human evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of ...
, perhaps most fully in his 1942 book "Der Eigenweg des Menschen" (translated as "The Path Travelled by Man Alone" or "The Unique Road to Man")title page of Der Eigenweg and some translation
which put forward ideas suggesting, amongst other things, that adaptation to water has played a significant part in the history of human development. That particular idea has since been developed as the controversial
Aquatic ape hypothesis The aquatic ape hypothesis (AAH), also referred to as aquatic ape theory (AAT) or the waterside hypothesis of human evolution, postulates that the ancestors of modern humans took a divergent evolutionary pathway from the other great apes by becom ...
(AAH), but the details of Westenhöfer's theory, such as that bipedalism is primitive in mammals, are not shared by most modern supporters of the AAH.


Final tenure in Chile (1948–1957)

In 1948, at the age of 77 he returned once more to Chile under a contract with the Junta Central de Beneficencia (Central Board of Charities) to serve as a pathology adviser.Sievers Wicke (1958) page 72 For his long record of contributions in Chile he was decorated by the government with the
Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...
. His legacy on the teaching of the anatomic pathology in Chile was continued by his students, especially Dr Ismael Mena at the University of Chile and Dr Roberto Barahona Silva, founder of the Department of Pathology at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...
.


Personal life

Westenhöfer was married twice. From the first marriage, to Anna Maria, he had three children, Grete, who was born in Chile, and Rudolf who was educated at the German School of Santiago. Only Wolf survived the war and lived in Berlin with six children. His second marriage was to Jutta, née Windmŭller,Sievers Wicke (1958) page 52 who survived him. He died on September 25, 1957, in
Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,Sievers Wicke (1958) page 47 which he considered his second home. Dr. Westenhöfer was buried in the Cementerio General de Santiago.


Publications

*M. Westenhöffer: ''Tabes dorsalis und Syphilis''. - Berlin: C. Vogts Buchdrückerei, 1894. - 34 pages (Berlin, Medizinische Fakultät, Inaug.-Diss. von 10. Augustus 1894) Thesis on
Tabes dorsalis Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These patients have lancinating n ...
and
Syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
*M. Westenhöffer: ''Über die Grenzen der übertragbarkeit der Tuberculose durch Fleisch tuberculöser Rinder auf den Menschen''. - Berlin : A. Hirschwald, 1904. - 48 pages "On the limits of transferability of tuberculosis through the meat of tuberculous cattle to humans" *M. Westenhöffer: ''Über Impftuberculose'' - Berlin : A. Hirschwald, 1904. - 24 pages - (Sonderabdruck aus Charité-Annalen) "On vaccination tuberculosis" *M. Westenhöffer: ''Pathologisch-anatomische Ergebnisse der oberschlesischen Genickstarreepidemie von 1905'' - Jena : G. Fischer, 1906. - iv, 72 pages - (Sonderabdruck aus Klin. Jahrb.) Study of 1905
meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
epidemic in Upper Silesia *M. Westenhöffer: ''Atlas der pathologisch-anatomischen Sektionstechnik'' - Berlin : A. Hirschwald, 1908. - viii, 53 pages. Illustrated guide for the performance of autopsies. *Westenhöfer, Max: ''Die Aufgaben der Rassenhygiene (des Nachkommenschutzes) im neuen Deutschland'' : Vortrag, gehalten am 27. Februar 1919 in der Berliner Gesellschaft für Rassenhygiene von Dr. Med. Westenhöfer. - Berlin : Richard Schötz, 1920. - 40 pages - (Veröffentlichungen aus dem Gebiete der Medizinalverwaltung ; 10,2 = Heft. 103) "Racial hygiene tasks (for protection of the descendants) in the new Germany" *Westenhöfer, Max: ''Über die Erhaltung von Vorfahrenmerkmalen beim Menschen, insbesondere über eine progonische Trias und ihre praktische Bedeutung''. - In: Medizinische Klinik, 1923, 37. - pages 1247–1255. "On the preservation of ancestor's characteristics in human beings, and especially on a trio of primitive features and their importance in practice" * *Westenhöfer, Max: ''Über die Klettermethoden der Naturvölker und über die Stellung der grossen Zehe'' - Leipzig : C. Kabitzsch, 1927. - pages 361–392. - Ill. - (Aus: Archiv für Frauenkunde und Konstitutionsforschung, Band 13, 1927, Heft 5) "On the climbing methods of primitive peoples and the position of the big toe" * - "The problem of human origin, presented through morphogenetic reflections on the brain and skull, and with reference to many other parts of the body." * "The unique path of man, depicted on the basis of comparative morphological studies on the formation of species and the origin of humanity" * "The basics of my theory of man's unique path: development, human origin, worldview"


See also

* List of pathologists *
German Chilean German Chileans ( es, germanochilenos; german: Deutsch-Chilenen) are Chileans descended from German immigrants, about 30,000 of whom arrived in Chile between 1846 and 1914. Most of these were from Bavaria, Baden and the Rhineland, and also from ...


References


Further reading

* Gonzalo Vial: ''Historia de Chile (1891–1973)'', volumen II, Triunfo y decadencia de la oligarquía, Santiago. Editorial Zig-Zag, 1999 * * * *
On Prof Max Westenhofer in PubMed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westenhofer, Max 1871 births 1957 deaths Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German emigrants to Chile Health in Chile Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class German pathologists Chilean pathologists German anthropologists People from the Kingdom of Bavaria University of Chile faculty People from Ansbach 19th-century German writers 20th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German male writers