Harald Hirschsprung

Harald Hirschsprung ( born December 14, 1830 in Copenhagen, † April 11, 1916 ) was a Danish pediatrician.

Family

Harald Hirschsprung was the eldest son of German -born Jewish merchant Abraham Marcus Hirschsprung (1793-1871) and his wife Petra, born Hertz (1804 - 1891). The father founded in 1826 in Copenhagen a tobacco trade under the name AM Hirschsprung & Sønner, originally his son Harald should take. Because the father knew other interests to his eldest son, the brothers Bernhard (1834-1909) and Heinrich (1836-1908) took his place on his father's company. His brother Heinrich Hirschsprung was also active as a patron and art collector.

Studies and career

From 1848 to 1855 Harald Hirschsprung studied the subject medicine at the University of Copenhagen. During his studies he specialized in the field of gastrointestinal diseases ( gastroenterology ). His dissertation - submitted on May 11, 1861 - he wrote about the congenital closure of the esophagus ( esophageal atresia ).

From 1870 onwards, Hirschsprung worked in a hospital for newborns. As a result of these activities, he established himself as the first pediatrician in the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1879 he became chief physician in the newly founded Queen Louisa pediatric house that has achieved an international reputation due to the intensive research on pediatrics.

At the Berlin Congress of the Society of Pediatrics in 1886, Harald Hirschsprung gave a lecture entitled chair inertia newborns as a result of dilatation and hypertrophy of the colon. The appearance of congenital megacolon, first described by him is also known as Hirschsprung 's disease ( Hirschsprung's disease ).

1891 Harald Hirschsprung was appointed Professor of Pediatrics. For the particular form of his teaching included lessons on Sunday morning from 9:00 bis 11:00 clock.