Abstract
German gynecologist Alphons Mermann (1852–1908) is best known for establishing the Luisenheim Woechnerinnenasyl (lying-in asylum) at the end of the 19th century in Mannheim. The Luisenheim, owing its name to HRH the Grand Duchess Luise of Baden (1838–1923), was a significant step forward in the provision of a safe delivery environment for mothers of modest means. During his life, Mermann used his position as the Luisenheim’s director to promote both the training of midwives and a strict maintenance of asepsis in the hospital. Historically, he has been viewed as the first physician to describe fetal hiccups in a peer-reviewed scientific publication, although the phenomena were described nearly two centuries before his account. This short work explores the life, family and contributions of Dr Mermann.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.Mannheim’s city center is laid out in a grid pattern; each quadrant (not necessarily a square) is designated by a letter and a number. The system in the present form was introduced 1811 .
2.Preller K. Medizinalrat Dr Alfons Mermann. Monatsschrift fuer Geburtshuelfe und Gynaekologie . 1908; 28: 214–215 .
3.Albert Paul von Hollander (1865–1937) born in Riga studied first history in Dorpat and then medicine in Dorpat and Koenigsberg in Preussen (now Kaliningrad). His 1894 Doctoral dissertation was titled A Contribution to the Anatomy of the Human Parietal Bone (Ein Beitrag zur Anatomie des Scheitelbeines des Menschen ). He married in 1908 the daughter of lawyer Albrecht Hinderer from Konstanz. Paul died in 1937 in Mannheim. Eduard von Hollander (1852–1935), son of Eduard Hollander (1820–1897) and Olga Drachenhauer (1822–1853) was married to Elisabeth (born von Hollander) (1860–1934), daughter of Dr med. Heinrich Gustav von Hollander (1827–1888) and Marie Magdalene Carus (1831–1914). Eduard von Hollander studied law in Dorpat and was from 1898 to 1919 one of the associate mayors of Mannheim; responsible for caritative and social issues, he was a member of the board of administration of the Luisenheim. Marie Magdalene, his mother-in-law, and the physician Paul von Hollander lived at the same address in Mannheim (Tullastr. 10) .
4.Festschrift zur Eröffnung des neuen Wöchnerinnenasyls Luisenheim in Mannheim. Mannheim, Haas , https://www.stadtarchiv.mannheim.de/bibliostar/digitalisate/web57.pdf (1903) (accessed 10 July 2015) .
5.Eckert A. Das Wöchnerinnenasyl “Luisenheim” in Mannheim. Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für öffentliche Gesundheitspflege 1906; 38: 295-303 .
6.Mermann A. Aphorismen über das Hebammenwesen. Centralblatt fuer Gynäkologie 1883; 45: 713-719 .
7.Mermann A. Ueber Vaginalinjectionen bei normaler Geburt und normalem Wochenbett; ein Beitrag zur Aetiologie und Prophylaxe des Puerperalfiebers. Archiv fuer Gynaekologie (Berlin) 1885; XXIII: 146-155 .
8.Mermann A. Klonischer Zwerchfellkrampf im Foetalleben. Zentralblatt fuer Gynäkologie 1880; 4: 377-379 .
9.Gustav Simon (1824–1877) was a German surgeon known for having performed the first planned nephrectomy in 1869. He worked first in Darmstadt, then became director of the surgical clinic in Rostock; later a Professor in Heidelberg. He lectured at the Aerzteverein (Physicians Association) in Mannheim and knew Dr Samuel Mermann, one of fourteen founding members of the Association (1864). The (South West) German Urology Society is awarding yearly the Gustav Simon Medal.10 .
10.Moll F and Karenberg A. Gustav Simon (1824–1877) and the development of nephrectomy: the surgeon and his intention. Journal of Medical Biography 2000; 8: 140-145 .
11.Mermann A. Über eigentümliche rhythmische Fetalbewegungen. Zentralblatt fuer Gynäkologie 1887; 11: 622-624 .
12.Kremer H. Über den Singultus . In: Payr E, Küttner H (eds) Ergebnisse der Chirurgie und Orthopädie 1922; 15: 362-390 .
13.Albrecht JP. Observatio XV: De foetu in utero materno singultiente. Miscellanea curiosa sive ephemeridum medico-physicarum Germanicarum Academiae Caesareo-Leopoldinae Naturae Curiosorum (MNC) . Decidua. 2, An. 6 (1687):42, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/86282#/summary .
14.Fischer JB von. De singultu & vagitu uterinis. Acta physico-medica Academiae Caesareae-Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum exhibentia ephemerides sive observations historias et experimenta (Acta Nat Cur) . Nuremberg, 1752; 10: 255, https://archive.org/stream/actaphysicomedic10unse#page/254/mode/1up/search/singultu (accessed 10 July 2015) .
15.Hesse CG. Ueber das Schreien der Kinder im Mutterleibe vor dem Risse der Eihauete: Ein monographischer Versuch von Dr Carl-Gustav Hesse, Praktischem Arzte in Goessnitz im Altenburgischen. Leipzig: FA Brockhaus, 1826, https://books.google.com/books?id=VrVTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA80&dq=%22v.+Fischer%22+schluchsen&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b7auVITILfaNsQSg1oH4AQ&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22v.%20Fischer%22%20schluchsen&f=false (accessed 10 July 2015) .