Carl Braun (obstetrician)
| Carl Braun (obstetrician) | |
|---|---|
Carl Ritter von Fernwald Braun, approx 1880
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| Born | 22 March 1822 Zistersdorf, Niederösterreich, Austria |
| Died |
28 March 1891 (aged 69) Wien, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian, Austro-Hungarian |
| Fields | Obstetrics |
| Institutions | Vienna General Hospital |
Carl Braun (22 March 1822 – 28 March 1891), sometimes Carl Rudolf Braun alternative spelling: Karl Braun, or Karl von Braun-Fernwald, name after knighthood Carl Ritter von Fernwald Braun was an Austrian obstetrician. He was born 22 March 1822 in Zistersdorf, Austria, son of the medical doctor Carl August Braun.
Carl Braun studied in Vienna from 1841 and, in 1847, took the position of Sekundararzt (assistant doctor) in the Vienna General Hospital. In 1849 he succeeded Ignaz Semmelweis as assistant to professor Johann Klein at the hospital's first maternity clinic, a position he held until 1853.
In 1853, after Braun became a Privatdozent, he was appointed ordinary professor of obstetrics in Trient and vice-director of the Tiroler Landes-Gebär- und Findelanstalt. In November 1856 he was called to Vienna to succeed Johann Klein as professor of obstetrics. On Braun's recommendation, the hospital's first gynaecology clinic was created in 1858, under his direction. He is credited for establishing gynaecology as an independent field of study
In 1867-1871 he was appointed dean of the medical faculty, and in the academic year 1868/69 was made rector of the University of Vienna. He was knighted in 1872 (cf. the title Ritter) and in 1877 became a Hofrat, a title reserved for very eminent professors.
His name is associated with a disorder of pregnancy called the "Braun-Fernwald sign". This sign is described as an asymmetrical enlargement and softening of the uterine fundus at the site of implantation at 4–5 weeks.
Braun was convinced that puerperal fever was caused by miasms and "unfavourable atmospheric-cosmic-terrestrial influences". Braun was consistently hostile to Ignaz Semmelweis; he was not conscientious in using the prophylactic measures necessary to prevent childbed fever, and he did not accept Semmelweis's etiological characterization of the disease.
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