The History of Surgery in World War I: Anton von Eiselsberg (1860 – 1939)

Abstract

The surgeon Anton von Eiselsberg can be regarded as one of Austria’s most influential physicians. This article presents historical materials in connection with Eiselsberg, including a letter from him sent on October 17, 1914, when World War I had already begun and the first wounded soldiers had to be treated in the field hospitals. Therefore, I focus on Eiselsberg’s role as an admiral staff physician in the Austrian Navy between 1914 and 1918. Eiselsberg’s treatment (1915 – 1917) of King Constantine I from Greece and Eiselsberg’s visit to the Osman Empire in 1918 are especially interesting and can be regarded as notable aspects of World War I history of medicine in the Middle East. In his autobiography, written in 1937, Anton von Eiselsberg clearly wrote that shots in the abdomen often could not be treated properly in World War I due to the lack of surgical capacities.Furthermore, I present biographical data of Eiselsberg’s life. The Eiselsberg family was part of Austria’s landed gentry. Anton von Eiselsberg attended a Christian Catholic monastery school as a child. This might be one of the reasons why his political positions later were often close to religious Catholic Christian conservativism.

Keywords

• 20th century history of medicine
• world war i
• neurosurgery
• general surgery