Philipp Bozzini (1773–1809) and the Lichtleiter

Abstract

first man to invent an instrument intended to illuminate the inner cavities of the human body was Philipp Bozzini, who was born 200 years ago in Mainz on the Rhine on May 25, 1773; he died at the age of thirty-five years on April 4, 1809 (Fig. 1). Endoscopic examinations and operative procedures are an essential part of modern urology. history of their development recalls the names of many urologists, dentists, and gynecologists from various counkies: Fisher, Desormeaux, Griinfeld, Kelly, Bruck, Segalas, Nitze, Bransford Lewis, Boisseau du Rocher, Leiter, and Albarran are only a few. instruments, presently used by urologists, are refinements of the cystoscope-prototype of Maximilian Nitze, first demonstrated in 1877.1 idea of looking into the cavities of the human body by means of a light-conducting instrument is in reality much older than this date. In his Textbook of Urology, Nitze wrote: The history of cystoscopy begins with Doctor Bozzini of Frankfort in 1807. 1 However , Bozzini wasno t always acknowledged as the ingenious }nventor he truly proved to be, New documents about Bozzini's endoscopic instrument, the Lichtleiter or light conductor, as well as a repositor for the umbilical cord have been found during recent years. Bozzini is, of course, not a German name. His father, Nicolaus Maria Bozzini de Bozza, a member of a distinguished Italian family, had to leave Italy about 1760 after a fatal duel. 2 He went