Carl Friedländer (19 November 1847, Brieg (Brzeg),

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

– 13 May 1887, Meran (Merano),

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

) was a German

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. 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 the context of modern medical treatme ...

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

who helped discover the

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

l cause of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1882. He also first described thromboangiitis obliterans. Edwin Klebs had seen bacteria in the airways of individuals who died from pneumonia in 1875; however, it was not until 1882 when

Friedländer Friedländer (Friedlander, or Friedlaender) is a toponymic surname derived from any of German places named Friedland (disambiguation), Friedland. The surname may refer to: People Friedländer * Adolf Albrecht Friedländer (1870–1949), Aust ...

recognized that bacteria (''

Klebsiella pneumoniae ''Klebsiella pneumoniae'' is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, lactose- fermenting, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It appears as a mucoid lactose fermenter on MacConkey agar. Although found in the normal flora of the mo ...

'') were nearly always observable in persons dying from pneumonia that the bold statement was made that these were the likely cause of pneumonia. Friedländer's second communication on the micrococci of pneumonia, which appeared on 15 November 1883, touched off a controversy over the causative agent of pneumonia that continued for the next three years. In this second report he noted that he had examined more than 50 additional cases of pneumonia and that he had identified bacteria in nearly all of them and that sections from which the bacteria were absent were from the lungs of patients dying late in the course of the disease. Friedländer also noted that it was necessary to use special stains (e.g. the Gram Stain) to see the bacteria because using ordinary stains (H&E) nuclei and fibrin stained the same way as bacteria and thus obscured the ability to see the bacteria. As a result, ''Klebsiella pneumoniae'' is often called ''Friedländer's bacterium'' or ''Friedländer's bacillus''.Kohler, W. & Mochmann, H. (1987): Carl Friedländer (1847–1887) and the discovery of the Pneumococcus—in memory of the centenary of his death. Zeitschrift für ärztliche Fortbildung 81(12):615-618 It is unclear if the bacteria that he observed in persons dying of pneumonia were truly all ''

Klebsiella ''Klebsiella'' is a genus of Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with a prominent polysaccharide-based capsule. ''Klebsiella'' is named after German-Swiss microbiologist Edwin Klebs (1834–1913). Carl Friedlander described ' ...

'', some may well have been ''

Streptococcus pneumoniae ''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, hemolysis (microbiology), alpha-hemolytic member of the genus ''Streptococcus''. ''S. pneumoniae'' cells are usually found in pairs (diplococci) and do not f ...

''. In 1886, he introduced the

ampoule An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass. Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...

in medicine. He died a premature death, aged 39 or 40, after a brief stint with a respiratory disease, believed to be caused by his discovered infectious organism, the Friedlander's Bacillus.

Works

* Friedländer, C. ''Über die Schizomyceten bei der acuten fibrösen Pneumonie.'' Virchow's Arch pathol. Anat. u. Physiol., 87 (2):319-324, Feb. 4, 1882. * Carl Friedländer: ''Arteriitis obliterans.'' Zentralblatt für die medizinischen Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1876, 14.

References

19th-century German physicians Prussian physicians German emigrants to Austria-Hungary German pathologists German microbiologists 1847 births 1887 deaths {{Germany-med-bio-stub