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Adam PolitzerAdam Politzer is a Austrian otologist, born October 1, 1835, Alberti, Hungary; died August 10, 1920, Vienna. Adam Politzer was born in Albertirsa, about 35 km from Budapest. Little is known about his background, except that his father was a well-to-do Jewish merchant (some say he was a teacher), his grandfather a surgeon. As a young man he developed interests in both languages, particularly Latin and Italian, and science. He also had a love of art and had a great deal of artistic talent. He studied in Vienna, particularly under Josef Skoda (1805-1881), Karl von Rokitansky (1804-1878), Johann Ritter von Oppolzer (1808-1871), and Carl Ludwig (1816-11895). Johann von Oppolzer was a professor who took special interest in Politzer. Oppolzer was an internist who made sickbed teaching, for which the Vienna School was known, so popular. Politzer received his doctorate at Vienna in 1859 and subsequently worked in Carl Ludwig's laboratory, where he undertook experiments in the physical principles involved in the auditory system. It was in Ludwig's laboratory that he introduced the method known as politzerisation. Politzer published his findings in 1861. Due to this experiment, practitioners were now able to treat ear diseases through his innovation of politzerisation rather than trying to do the difficult procedure of passing a catheter into the torus of the eustachian tube. Worldwide use of the politzerisation technique thus made Politzer very well known. Politzer then trained with Anton Friedrich Freiherr von Troeltsch (1829–1890 in Wrzburg, Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821–1894) in Heidelberg, Claude Bernard (1813–1878) in Paris, and with Karl Rudolf Kצnig. Later, under the tutelage of Rudolf Albert von Kצlliker (1817–1905) in Wrzburg, and Joseph Toynbee (1815–1866) in London, Politzer learned microscopy. Already four years after graduation, in 1863 he established the first clinic in the world devoted to the treatment of ear diseases. He was joined by Josef Gruber (1827–1900), who was in charge of the male patients, while Politzer housed a ward with only female patients. Politzer became a Dozent of otology at the University of Vienna in 1861, and ausserordentlicher professor of otology in 1870. The same title was awarded Josef Gruber. The two worked jointly, but not without friction, and when The University of Vienna Aural Clinic (Allgemeines Krankenhaus) was established in 1871, Adam Politzer and Josef Gruber were again promoted and appointed joint directors. His teaching soon attracted large audiences. In 1873 he took over leadership of the university otological clinic at the Wiener allgemeines Krankenhaus, the first specialised otological clinic in the world, and lectured there from 1894 to 1906, becoming full professor in 1895, sole leader from 1898. Besides his hospital and university duties, Politzer attended his private clinic, which attracted patients from all over the world. In order to obtain a larger material for study, Politzer in 1864 persuaded the mayor of Vienna, Dr. Seeler, to allow him to treat indigent ear patients at the charity hospital, along with the population of the local home for the elderly. Politzer retired in 1907. At his retirement celebration 500 physicians from around the world showed up. Politzer left the University og Vienna a fine collection of pathological-anatomical specimens of the hearing organ. However, he died in poverty, due to personal financial problems and the devaluation of Austrian currency after WWI. The financial situation in Austria at the time was similar to that of Germany a few years later, and no less devastating.
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