FRII-09 BLADDER EXSTROPHY AND THE ORIGINAL MONSTER MANUAL: THE LIFE OF JOHANNES SCHENCK VON GRAFENBERG

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology: History Forum II1 Apr 2016FRII-09 BLADDER EXSTROPHY AND THE ORIGINAL MONSTER MANUAL: THE LIFE OF JOHANNES SCHENCK VON GRAFENBERG Janae Preece and Kristina Suson Janae PreeceJanae Preece More articles by this author and Kristina SusonKristina Suson More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2016.02.2930AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES While mentioned around 600 A.D., bladder exstrophy was not formally described until 1595. Johannes Schenck von Grafenberg (1530-1598) was a German physician who was the first to describe bladder exstrophy but also found success in describing neurologic conditions. METHODS Primary and secondary sources including the medical literature and biographical data were used to examine the life and contributions of Johannes Schenck von Grafenberg. RESULTS Born in 1530, Johannes Schenck von Grafenberg studied to become a physician in Tubingen, Germany. Medicine at the time was advancing past the idea that ailments were a punishment from God. With the Renaissance came a revival in the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome, and a scientific understanding of medicine began to grow. After practicing for a short time in Strausborg, Schenck became the physician to the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. He saw the benefits of careful observations of disease processes and sought to document both historical and contemporary medical observations. He developed a particular early interest in the workings of the brain and published Observationes medicae di capiti, a collection of 418 observations on psychological and neurologic conditions. Schenck's seminal work, Observationum medicarum rariorum, was a seven volume head to toe collection of observations of medical conditions. This work demonstrated Schenck's admiration for contemporaries such as the great anatomist Vesalius. Still, he appreciated the teachings of Galen, the 2nd century physician whose thoughts on psychotherapy prompted Schenck to cure a patient convinced he was being killed by poisonous toads in his intestine by providing the patient with an enema, and showing him toads in his waste (placed there by Schenck). Despite Schenck's success with documenting medical observations, his 1595 description of exstrophy would have been forgotten if not for Aldrovandus, an Italian naturalist with an interest in medicine. Aldrovandus’ book describing and depicting rare congenital anomalies, Historia Monstrum, (the story of a monster) included Schenck's description of exstrophy as well as depictions of other major birth defects and was published in 1646. CONCLUSIONS Nearly overlooked as the first to describe bladder exstrophy, Johannes Schenck von Grafenberg achieved notoriety in his day for his extensive writings on medical conditions. His astute observations on brain injuries made him an early pioneer in the field of neurolinguistics. © 2016FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 195Issue 4SApril 2016Page: e523-e524 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2016MetricsAuthor Information Janae Preece More articles by this author Kristina Suson More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...