Gustav Adolf Michaelis

Gustav Adolf Michaelis (July 9, 1798 - August 8, 1848) was a German obstetrician who was a native of Kiel. He studied medicine in Göttingen under surgeon Konrad Johann Martin Langenbeck (1776-1851) and obstetrician Friedrich Benjamin Osiander (1759-1822), and later was director of the Obstetric Hospital and the School of Midwifery at Kiel. He was the father of archaeologist Adolf Michaelis (1835-1910).

Michaelis was a pioneer of scientific obstetrics who is remembered for his work in pelvimetry. He performed extensive research involving difficulties associated with a "narrow pelvis" and its relationship to childbirth, which he documented in a treatise called "Das enge Becken". After being informed of Ignaz Semmelweis' theory of prophylaxis for prevention of puerperal fever, Michaelis was one of the first obstetricians to adopt the practice of compulsory chlorine handwashing. Afterwards, he became severely depressed over the number of women (including his niece) who had died from puerperal fever due to unsanitary obstetrical practices, and on August 8, 1848, Michaelis committed suicide in Lehrte, Germany.

After his death, his position at Kiel was replaced by Carl Conrad Theodor Litzmann (1815-1890). Today, the "Michaelis Midwifery School" at the University of Kiel is named in his honor.
*Associated eponym:
* "Rhombus of Michaelis": A contour in the coccyx/sacrum region that is rhombus-shaped. Sometimes referred to as the "quadrilateral of Michaelis".

References

* [http://www.springerlink.com/content/aawrw2fhhlfkglmf/ Biography of Gustav Adolf Michaelis]
* [http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_r_12zPzhtm Dorlands Medical Dictionary, Definition of Eponym]