Otto Kahler (January 8, 1849 – January 24, 1893) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

pathologist 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 t ...

born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. In 1871 he obtained his medical doctorate in Prague, and following an educational trip to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, returned to his hometown as an assistant to

Joseph Halla Joseph (Josef) Halla (2 June 1814 – 12 January 1887) was an Austrian physician of Czech parentage born in Prague. In 1847 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Prague, and shortly afterwards obtained his habilitation. From 18 ...

(1814–1887) at the internal clinic. In 1882 he became an associate professor at

Karl-Ferdinands-Universität ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

, and a few years later (1886), was a "full professor" of

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 ...

and therapy. In 1889 he relocated to the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, succeeding

Heinrich von Bamberger Heinrich von Bamberger (27 December 1822, Zwornarka, Kingdom of Bohemia – 9 November 1888, Vienna) was an Austrian pathologist. He was father to internist Eugen von Bamberger (1858-1921). Biography In 1847 he earned his doctorate from the Un ...

(1822–1888) as professor of special pathology. After a year 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 ...

, he developed

tongue cancer Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless white patch, that thickens, develops red patches, an ulcer, and continues to grow. When on ...

and his assistant, Friedrich Kraus (1858–1936), subsequently took over his lectures. Kahler died in Vienna in 1893. He is best known for describing multiple myeloma, a

hematological malignancy Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...

, which is called "Kahler's disease" in his honor in several countries. Additionally, he made various important discoveries in the field of

neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

, such as describing

syringomyelia Syringomyelia is a generic term referring to a disorder in which a cyst or cavity forms within the spinal cord. Often, syringomyelia is used as a generic term before an etiology is determined. This cyst, called a syrinx, can expand and elongate o ...

, and the arrangement of the

posterior column Posterior may refer to: * Posterior (anatomy), the end of an organism opposite to its head ** Buttocks, as a euphemism * Posterior horn (disambiguation) * Posterior probability The posterior probability is a type of conditional probability that r ...

s in the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

(the Kahler–Pick law, with

Arnold Pick Arnold Pick (20 July 18514 April 1924) was a Jewish Czech psychiatrist. He is known for identifying the clinical syndrome of Pick's disease and the Pick bodies that are characteristic of the disorder. He was the first to name reduplicative param ...

Written works

* ''Beiträge zur Pathologie und pathologischen Anatomie des Centralnervensystems''. (with Arnold Pick), 1879 (Contributions to the pathology and

pathological anatomy 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 o ...

of the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

). * ''Ueber die Diagnose der Syringomyelie''. Prager medicinische Wochenshrift, Prague, 1889, 13: 45, 63. (On diagnosis of syringomyelia) * ''Zur Symptomatologie des multiplen Myeloms. Beobachtung von Albumosurie''. Prager medicinische Wochenshrift, Prague, 1889, 14: 33–35, 44–49. (Symptomatology of multiple myeloma).

References

Whonamedit biography
1849 births 1893 deaths Austrian pathologists Scientists from Prague Academic staff of Charles University {{austria-med-bio-stub