Johann Friedrich Ahlfeld

Johann Friedrich Ahlfeld

Johann Friedrich Ahlfeld (16 October 1843 in Alsleben – 25 May 1929 in Marburg) was a German obstetrician and gynecologist.

From 1863 to 1867 he studied medicine at the universities of Greifswald and Leipzig, where he was a pupil of Carl Siegmund Franz Credé. In 1868 he received his doctorate with the dissertation-thesis "Über Zerreissung der Schamfuge während der Geburt".^[1] In 1873 he obtained his habilitation for obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Leipzig, and in 1877 attained the title of associate professor. In 1881 he became a full professor at the University of Giessen, then two years later relocated to Marburg as director of the university Frauenklinik and school for midwives.^[2][3]

Associated terms

• "Ahlfeld's method": A term formerly used for disinfection of the hands using hot water and alcohol.^[4]
• "Alfeld's sign": Irregular uterine contraction after the third month of pregnancy.^[5]

Selected works

• Die Technik der Schwangerenuntersuchung, 1873 – The technique of pregnancy investigation.
• Lehrbuch der Geburtshilfe zur wissenschaftlichen und praktischen Ausbildung, (1874, 2nd edition 1898) – Textbook of obstetrics for scientific and practical training.
• Die Missbildungen des Menschen; eine systematische Darstellung der beim Menschen angeboren vorkommenden Missbildungen und Erklärung ihrer Entstehungsweise (2 parts, 1880–82) – Malformations of humans; a systematic presentation of congenital malformations occurring in humans and explanations of their mode of origin.
• Abwartende Methode oder Credéscher Handgriff, 1888 – Wait-and-see approach or Crede's maneuver.
• Die Desinfection der Hand des Geburtshelfers und Chirurgen, 1901 – Disinfection of the hands for the obstetrician and surgeon.^[6]

References