Friedrich Wilhelm Scanzoni von Lichtenfels

Friedrich Wilhelm Scanzoni von Lichtenfels (21 December 1821 – 12 June 1891) was a German gynecologist and obstetrician who was a native of Prague.

He studied medicine in Prague, and spent most of his professional career as chair of obstetrics (1850–1888) at the University of Würzburg, where he succeeded Franz Kiwisch von Rotterau.^[1]

Scanzoni was a leading authority of obstetrics in 19th century Europe. He is best remembered today for the birthing procedure known as the Scanzoni maneuver. In 1849 he was a major factor in the appointment of Rudolf Virchow to the chair of pathological anatomy at the University of Würzburg. He was an ardent critic of Ignaz Semmelweis.

• Associated eponyms:
• Scanzoni maneuver: (Scanzoni forceps technique) A method of applying an obstetrical forceps in order to rotate a fetus.
• Scanzoni's second os: (hourglass uterine constriction) A constriction at the junction of the thinned lower uterine segment with the thick retracted upper uterine segment. This condition results from obstructed labor, and is a sign of threatened rupture of the uterus.

Selected Writings

• Die geburtshilflichen Operationen (The Obstetrical Operation), 1852
• Compendium der verloskunde, 1855
• Die chronische Metritis (Chronic Metritis), 1863
• Lehrbuch für Geburtshilfe (Textbook for Obstetrics), 1867

References

• This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.