acquainted with Dr. Jules Dejerine, a young neu- rologist, while she was still a student and they married in her senior year. Together the Dejerines formed a team and shared in the neurologic inves- tigations that resulted in her husband rising to the position of professor of neurology and chief of neurology at the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.
Dejerine-Klumpke was highly respected as a neurologist in her own right.
where he graduated from the college of medicine in 1920. He took his internship at the Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, where he worked with Dr.
Steindler. Following this he went to Chicago and took a residency at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Dr. Knowles’ inventiveness extended into other fields. He designed a fascinating home on the banks of the Des Moines River in the outskirts of Fort Dodge, with special tennis courts and bowling greens. He was a highly successful organic gardener and grower of orchids. His inter- est in art continued during his medical career and he carried on with his painting and was involved with several local art groups. Dr. Knowles was active in the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons since its founding in 1933. He was a past president of the Iowa Orthopedic Society, and a member of the Mid-Central States Ortho- pedic Society, the International College of Sur- geons, and national, state, and local medical societies.
Dr. Fred Knowles died on February 13, 1973.
He was survived by his wife and two daughters.
Dr. Knowles’ productive life can serve as an excellent model for those of us who find our intel- lectual pursuits hurried in the turmoil of private orthopedic practice.
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Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Fred KNOWLES
1888–1973
While Dr. Knowles practiced orthopedics pri- vately in the small and academically isolated community of Fort Dodge, Iowa, for over 40 years, he remained a remarkable innovator in the mechanical aspects of orthopedic surgery.
We are all familiar with the Knowles pin, which he developed for the treatment of femoral- neck fractures. In addition, he invented a portable fracture table, which was quite useful in the days when itinerant orthopedic surgery was a com- monly accepted practice. He was most well known by his patients for his method of treatment of disc disease with metal internal vertebral support. This procedure required minimum surgi- cal exposure and in his hands, at least, was highly successful.
Dr. Knowles was born in Kingsley, Iowa, on May 19, 1888. He did his undergraduate work at Oberlin from 1910 to 1912. He spent 1 year at the Art Institute in Chicago in 1913, but decided to turn to medicine. He went to Iowa City, Iowa,
Theodor KÖCHER
1841–1917
Theodor Köcher was born in Bern, Switzerland,
the son of a successful civil engineer. In his early
schooling he showed special talent for languages and art. He graduated with highest honors from the medical school at the University of Bern in 1865. He sought postgraduate training in surgery in Berlin in Langenbeck’s clinic, but this was impossible because of his Swiss nationality. After prolonged visits to Berlin, London, Paris, and Vienna, he returned to Bern where he obtained a position in the surgical clinic.
The medical school in Bern was relatively new, having been founded in 1835. The first professor of surgery, Hermann Demme, was a product of the German educational system, as was the second professor, Albert Lucke, a student of Langenbeck. When Lucke accepted a more prestigious position in Strassburg in 1871, Köcher applied for the position in Bern. The largely German faculty of the medical school recommended Franz Konig, another student of Langenbeck, who later became the professor of surgery at the Charite in Berlin. The junior faculty and students rallied behind the cause of the ethnic Swiss candidate, as did the local Bern physicians.
After a careful investigation of his qualifications, the Board of Regents of the University chose Köcher. He served as professor of surgery for 45 years and built the reputation of the Department of Surgery and the Medical School in Bern to a very high level.
Köcher’s interests in surgery were broad and included important work on fractures and dislo- cations, ballistics, abdominal surgery, and neuro- surgery. It was in the field of thyroid surgery, however, that he made his greatest contribution, and for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1909; he was the first surgeon to be so honored.
Köcher had a significant role as a teacher of medical students, house officers, and practi- tioners. His most famous student was Harvey Cushing, who worked in Köcher’s laboratory for 5 months in 1900–1901. In addition to his numer- ous papers, Köcher’s Text-Book of Operative
Surgery was also influential, going throughnumerous editions and translations. Köcher was the first to emphasize the importance of design- ing an operative approach that utilized the inter- space between groups of muscles innervated by different major nerves.
His description of a posterolateral approach to the hip joint was designed primarily for resection of the hip for tuberculous disease. A modification of previous incisions described by others, Köcher’s incision too has been modified by suc-
ceeding surgeons and is used now primarily for the repair of fractures of the hip and acetabulum and for total joint replacement.
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