Curt Schimmelbusch
| Curt Schimmelbusch | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 16, 1860 Groß-Nogath |
| Died | August 2, 1895 (aged 34) Berlin |
| Residence | Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
Anaesthesia Asepsis |
Curt Theodor Schimmelbusch (November 16, 1860 – August 2, 1895) was a German physician and pathologist who invented the Schimmelbusch mask, for the safe delivery of anaesthetics to surgical patients. He was also a key figure in the development of mechanical methods of sterilisation and disinfection for surgical procedures, on which his Anleitung zur aseptischen Wundbehandlung ("Guide to the aseptic treatment of wounds") was considered a seminal work.
Schimmelbusch was born in Groß-Nogath, West Prussia, (located in modern-day Poland) on November 16, 1860. After initially studying natural sciences, he then studied medicine at Würzburg, Göttingen, Berlin and Halle. He was awarded his medical degree in 1886, while at Halle, where he worked with Karl Joseph Eberth. During his time at Halle, he assisted Eberth with his work on thrombosis, and the pair published a number of papers together. In 1888, he worked with Bernhard Bardenheuer in a hospital in Cologne, and in the following year, he moved back to Berlin and conducted research at the institute at the Ziegelstrasse.
In 1890, Schimmelbusch invented a mask for the delivery of anaesthetics to surgical patients. It was primarily designed for ether anaesthesia, but he also proposed its use for chloroform anaesthesia. Both ether and chloroform can cause irritation if they come into contact with the patient's skin, so Schimmelbusch designed a metal mask, over which a gauze could be stretched and secured. The mask was placed over the patient's mouth and nose, and anaesthetic was applied to the gauze, allowing the patient to inhale the anaesthetic as they breathed normally. Around the edge of the mask, a trough collected the residual anaesthetic, rather than allowing it to drip onto the patient's face.
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