Lorenz Böhler
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Lorenz Böhler (15 January 1885 in
Wolfurt Wolfurt is a municipality in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Population Transport Wolfurt railway station is an intermediate stop on the Vorarlberg railway line () traversing Vorarlberg in a north-south direction. This railway stat ...
, Austria – 20 January 1973 in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
) was an Austrian
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and surgeon. Böhler is most notable as one of the creators of modern accident surgery. He was the head of the AUVA-Hospital in Vienna, Brigittenau, that was later named after him: Lorenz-Böhler-Unfallkrankenhaus. This hospital was an international model during his time as the leading surgeon there. In
radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...
, the measurement of ''Böhler's angle'' on a foot
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
can help detect fractures of the
calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel; : calcanei or calcanea) or heel bone is a bone of the Tarsus (skeleton), tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other ...
.


Early life

At the early age of 5 Böhler – son of a family of craftspeople – knew he wanted to become a surgeon. When he was a little boy he used to anatomize small birds and squirrels. On 6 December 1896 an
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
of a hand by
Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; 27 March 1845 – 10 February 1923), sometimes Transliteration, transliterated as Roentgen ( ), was a German physicist who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. As ...
was published in ''
Das interessante Blatt ''Das Interessante Blatt'' was an Austrian magazine which appeared weekly from 1882 to 1939. A supplement of the newspaper appeared under the title Wiener Bilder, their successor newspaper was the ''Wiener Illustrierte''. Bibliography * Helm ...
'' magazine. Lorenz Böhler saw it, cut it out and stuck it on his reading book. In 1896 he attended the fürsterzbischöfliche Knabenseminar in
Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...
. After two years he left that school and attended secondary school in
Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...
, where he had to repeat the third grade. He graduated in 1905. He started his studies in medicine in 1905 at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. In 1910 he met his wife—a nurse—at Bregenz's hospital where he was working as a trainee. On 1 July 1911 Böhler became Doctor of Medicine at Vienna's University.


Occupational activity until 1914

For a short time (1911—and then again in 1919, 1920), Böhler worked at the clinic of surgeon Julius Hochenegg, who was his Professor at University. Hochenegg was one of the first doctors who had a department for accident surgery in his clinic. Since September 1911 Böhler worked as a physician on a ship for a few months, until he started to work at the garrison's hospital at
Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...
, where he became a k. u. k. substitute medical assistant. There he mostly did bacteriological work. In Autumn 1912 he became an assistant doctor at the hospital in
Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...
and in April 1913 he became assistant doctor in Tetschen an der Elbe. In 1914 Böhler went to an international surgeons congress in New York City. On his way to the congress he met Belgian doctor Albin Lambotte, who told him about surgical methods of fracture treatment. Afterwards Böhler spent some time at the
Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...
,
Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...
, where he met
Charles Horace Mayo Charles Horace Mayo (July 19, 1865 – May 26, 1939) was an American medical practitioner and was one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic along with his brother William James Mayo, Augustus Stinchfield, Christopher Graham, Edward Star Judd ...
. Mayo told him about the centres of fracture treatment at London and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. There was nothing like this in the German-speaking part of Europe. Mayo gave Böhler a commendatory letter for Arbuthnot Lane in London, who was one of the leading European doctors in surgical fracture treatment, but the breakout of World War I made it impossible for Böhler to visit Lane.


Böhler's career during World War I

Shortly after conscription Böhler wanted to work as a surgeon and so he did: From 1914 to 1916 he was working as a surgeon at the Divisions-Sanitäts-Anstalt Nr. 8 der Tiroler Kaiserjäger and in August 1916 he became the leading surgeon at a
military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...
for minor casualties in
Bozen Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The g ...
. Though he wasn't allowed to treat shot
fractures Fracture is the appearance of a crack or complete separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress (mechanics), stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacemen ...
he managed to get soldiers with broken bones and was able to treat them very successfully so he finally was allowed to treat them and the military hospital was expanded to a special station for bone fractures and renamed "Spezialabteilung für Knochenschussbrüche und Gelenkschüsse". There Lorenz Böhler was able to realize some of his most groundbreaking ideas: everything got specialized and standardized, records were kept for later (statistic) analyses, the most important information got written on the plaster and the patients got sorted according to their kind of physical injury, and those who were able to do some kind of work had to help at the military hospital. Böhler had seen the chaos in other military hospitals where patients were lying higgledy-piggledy which of course caused difficulties in treating them. For a short time in 1918 Böhler was in Italian war captivity and had to work as an advisory surgeon for Italian military hospitals.


The interwar years – the founding of the AUVA hospital

Back in Austria Böhler wanted to establish special stations for casualty treatments. Therefore, he approached the Arbeiterunfallversicherungsanstalt (AUVA) (labourer's accident insurance) in Vienna and tried to explain the (both medical and economic) advantages which it would have if the AUVA would have an own specialized hospital. Though the AUVA agreed with Böhler the project wasn't realized until 1925. The AUVA-hospital opened on 1 December 1925 in Vienna Webergasse 2–6. Böhler (meanwhile he was working as a surgeon in Bozen and Brixen) became the head of the hospital. Böhler's reputation as a surgeon increased, especially abroad, while some of his colleagues in Vienna rejected him. Encouraged by the ''American Medical Association of Vienna'' (A.M.A.) he wrote the first edition of his book on bone fractures and modern techniques to deal with them called ''Treatment of fractures'' – which became his classic work – in 1929. On 29 March 1930 Böhler was promoted to professor at the University of Vienna. There he was teaching surgery and accident treatment. On 3 August 1936 he became an associate Professor.


Böhler during World War II

Little is known about Böhler's life during the Second World War. On 25 May 1938 he became a member of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
(No. 6.361.999). In the summer of 1939 he was one of the 13 physicians of Vienna's University (7 professors and 6 private lecturers) who signed a protest letter against the suggested move of the A.M.A. from Vienna to London claiming "... that we the undersigned, know of not one case of persecution of a professor for his racial or religious adherence. ... It could rather be said that by the removal of certain influences a trend of charlatanism, which was beginning to damage the reputation of the Vienna medical clinics in the eyes of serious medical men, was eliminated". During World War II Böhler was '' inter alia'' working as an advisory surgeon for the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
and at the Rudolfspital in Vienna, where he was the head of the surgery department and of a specialized military hospital for bone fractures.


After 1945

Böhler was one of the scientists who resumed a successful career as Professor (in 1954 he became a professor) and physician (publishing many medical papers), despite his membership in the Nazi Party. He remained the head of the AUVA-hospital Until 1963. His son
Jörg Böhler Jörg or Joerg () is a German name, equivalent to George in English. * Jörg Bergmeister (born 1976), German race car driver * Jörg Fisch (1947–2024), Swiss historian * Jörg Frischmann, German Paralympian athlete * Jörg Haider (1950–2008), ...
, also a surgeon, was the head of the AUVA-hospital from 1970 to 1983.


Böhler's treatment principles

Böhler's aim was to: *save life *save the part of the body *save its function. This should be achieved by: *a fast
diagnosis Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...
*painless adjusting *immobilize the injured body part *active movement of all other body parts but trying to avoid causing pain. Böhler rejected the methods of treatment which had been popular at this time:
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
, hot air and
massage Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...
.


Honours and awards

*Knights Cross of the
Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...
(1915) *
Merit Cross of the Austrian Red Cross Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Buddhism) * Merit (Christianity) Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes * Merit Energy Company, an international energy company * Merit Motion Pictures, an independent documentar ...
(1917) *
Military Merit Medal (Austria–Hungary) The Military Merit Medal (, , ) was a military decoration of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on March 12, 1890. The Military Merit Medal is often referred to as the "Signum Laudis" (Latin for "sign of prais ...
(1918) *
Red Cross Medal (Prussia) The Red Cross Medal was a German medal set up on 1 October 1898 by Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Wilhelm II. It had three classes and could be awarded to all those who carried out great service to the sick in peace or wartime, or for special achiev ...
*Honorary Citizen of
Wolfurt Wolfurt is a municipality in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Population Transport Wolfurt railway station is an intermediate stop on the Vorarlberg railway line () traversing Vorarlberg in a north-south direction. This railway stat ...
(1957) *
Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...
(1959) *Medal of Vorarlberg in Gold (1964) *Ring of Honour of the City of Vienna (1965) In 1940 Böhler was elected a member of the
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...
. The new building for the Accident Hospital opened in 1972, and was named after him (Emergency Hospital Vienna Lorenz Böhler). A street in Vienna's 20th District (
Brigittenau Brigittenau () is the 20th districts of Vienna, district of Vienna (). It is located north of the central districts, north of Leopoldstadt on the same island area between the Danube and the Danube Canal. Brigittenau is a heavily populated urban a ...
) was also named for him. He been an honorary member of 33 worldwide associations.


Publications

Böhler published more than 400 scientific papers.His son Jörg Böhler even said it had been 450. Jörg Böhler: ''Lorenz Böhler. Der Vater der Unfallchirurgie. 15.1.1885-20.1.1973.'' In: ''Zentralblatt für Chirurgie.'' Bd. 110, No. 4, 1985, p. 194-199. His magnum opus ''Treatment of Fractures'' (1929) did not start out as a success. Medical specialist printers refused to publish it, so Böhler asked the bookseller Wilhelm Maudrich (jun.) to help him. Böhler had to pay the printing cost and finally the book – though it was criticized by some of Böhlers colleagues – became a top seller. Wilhelm Maudrich then became a medical specialist printer Verlag Maudrich. It was translated into eight languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Polish and Chinese. The first edition of the book had 176 pages. By 1957, it reached 2,500 pages; Böhler constantly worked on it, updating and expanding. Some of his other publications include: *''Die Spezialisierung der Frakturbehandlung für die Kriegszeit, eine Frage von grösster volkswirtschaftlicher Bedeutung.'' In: ''Zentralblatt für Chirurgie'' 44 (1918) *''Wie schützen wir die Verwundeten vor Amputation und Krüppeltum?'' In: ''Zeitschrift für orthopädische Chirurgie'' 45 (1924): 244–281. *''Knochenbrüche und Unfallchirurgie in ihren Beziehungen zur Umwelt.'' Maudrich, Wien 1933. *''Wundbehandlung.'' In: ''Zeitschrift für ärztliche Fortbildung'' 38 (22) (1941): 545–552. *''Unfallkrankenhäuser, Unfallabteilungen, Unfallkliniken.'' In: ''Archiv für orthopädische und Unfall-Chirurgie'' 42 (1) (1942): 5-23. *''Vorschlag zur Marknagelung nach Küntscher bei frischen Oberschenkelschussbrüchen.'' In: ''Der Chirurg'' 15 (1) (1943): 8–13. *''Verbandlehre für Schwestern, Helfer, Studenten und Ärzte.'' Maudrich, Wien 1947.


Further reading

* *Böhler, Lorenz: ''Die Technik der Knochenbruchbehandlung'', Bd. I, Bd. II, Erg.band. Reprint der 12.-13. Auflage 1953/1963, Nachdruck 1996. 3 Bde., leinengeb., Schutzumschlag, 2.483 S. zuzügl. Sachverzeichnis, ca. 4.800 Abb., Maudrich 1996, . * * * *


References


External links


Lorenz Böhler und das UnfallkrankenhausTäglich Wissenschaft entdecken
(Böhler) * *
Recordings with Lorenz Böhler
in the Online Archive of the
Österreichische Mediathek The Österreichische Mediathek ("Austrian Mediatheque") is the Austrian archive for sound recordings and videos on cultural and contemporary history. It was founded in 1960 as Österreichische Phonothek (Austrian Phonothek) by the Ministry of Educ ...
(in German). Retrieved 29 July 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohler, Lorenz 1885 births 1973 deaths People from Bregenz District Austrian surgeons Austrian Nazis People from Brigittenau Recipients of the Order of Franz Joseph Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross 20th-century surgeons Burials at Döbling Cemetery