Albert Salomon (surgeon)

This article is about the German surgeon. For the German sociologist, see Albert Salomon.

Albert Salomon (1883–1976)[1] was a German surgeon at the Royal Surgical University Clinic in Berlin. He is best known for his study of early mastectomies that is considered the beginning of mammography.[2] He was the father of the artist Charlotte Salomon, who died in the Holocaust.[1]

Breast pathology

In 1913, Salomon performed a study on 3,000 mastectomies.[2] In the study, Salomon compared X-rays of the breasts to the actual removed tissue, observing specifically microcalcifications.[3][4] By doing so, he was able to establish the difference as seen on an X-ray image between cancerous and non-cancerous tumors in the breast.[4] Salomon's mammographs provided substantial information about the spread of tumors and their borders.[5] In the midst of the study, Salomon also discovered that there are multiple types of breast cancer.[4] Salomon was unable to use this technique in practice because he did not work with breast cancer patients, and although he published his findings in 1913, mammography did not become a common practice until years later.[5]

Later life

Salomon was discharged from the University of Berlin in 1933 as Adolf Hitler came to power. He lived in a concentration camp until 1939, when he managed to go into hiding in the Netherlands. After World War II ended, he moved to Amsterdam, where he worked as a professor.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Creativity and Its Imprint: Three Jewish Artists and Some Books About Them: Philip Guston, Charlotte Salomon, R. B. Kitaj, Leonard Gold, Rosaline and Myer Feinstein Lecture Series, 2001. Hosted by www.jewishlibraries.org. Retrieved 11 Jul 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Picard, JD (1998). "History of Mammography". Bulletin de l'Académie Nationale de Médecine 182 (8): 1613–1620. PMID 10188307.
  3. ↑ Sharyl J. Nass; I. Craig Henderson; Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Technologies for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer (2001). Mammography and beyond: developing technologies for the early detection of breast cancer. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-07283-0.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ingram, April. "Breast Cancer Pioneer - Was the First Person to Use X-rays to Study Breast Cancer". Science Heroes. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Thomas, Adrian (2005). Classic papers in modern diagnostic radiology. Berlin: Springer. p. 540. ISBN 3-540-21927-7.
  6. ↑ Gold, Richard; Basset, Lawrence; Widoff, Bobbi (November 1990). "Radiologic History Exhibit". RadioGraphics (10): 1111–1131.