Adam Politzer

Biography

• Born 1 October 1835 in Alberti, Hungary
• 1859 – MD
• 1863 – Established the first clinic in the world devoted to the treatment of ear diseases
• 1870 – Ausserordentlicher professor of otology, University of Vienna
• 1893 – Politzer was the first to describe otosclerosis as a specific disease fixating the stapes
• 1903 – Immediate
• 1907 – Retired.
• Died 10 August 1920 August in Vienna, Austria

Medical Eponyms

Politzer manoeuver (1863) Inflation of the eustachian tube and tympanum by forcing air into the nasal cavity and pressing the nostrils shut when the patient swallows. To effect permeability of the Eustachian tube [aka Politzer’s method; Politzerization]

Politzer bag: The pear-shaped rubber bag with rubber tip used to inflate the middle ear and increase the pressure in the nasopharynx by forcing air through the eustachian tube

Politzer test: Test for function of the Eustachian tube. A tuning fork is held in front of the nose; it is heard only by the unaffected ear during swallowing

Politzer luminous cone: Triangular area at the anterior inferior part of the tympanic membrane

Politzer society: International society for Otologic surgery and Science which also awards the ‘Politzer Prize‘

Neologisms

Otosclerosis: Ankylosis of the stapes was first reported by Valsalva in 1704. Politzer was the first to describe otosclerosis as a specific disease fixating the stapes (1893). Following further research he concluded that in 1901 that otosclerosis was an independent disease and should have the right to its own chapter in otologic books. He selected the word otosclerosis to describe this new pathologic entity.

Major Publications

• Politzer A. Ueber ein neues Heilverfahren gegen Schwerhörigkeit in Folge von Unwegsamkeit der Eustachischen Ohrtrompete. Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift, 1863; 13: 84-87, 102-104, 117-119, 148-152. [Politzer manoeuver]
• Politzer A. Diagnose und Therapie der Ansammlung seröser Flüssigkeit in der Trommelhöhle, Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift. 1867; 17: 244–247 [Otitis media with effusion (OME)]
• Politzer A. Die Beleuchtungsbilder des Trommelfells im gesunden und kranken Zustande. 1865 [The membrana tympani in health and disease Translated by Mathewson 1869]
• Politzer A. Die anatomische und histologische Zergliederung des menschlichen Gehörorgans im normalen und kranken Zustande. 1889
• Politzer A. Lehrbuch der Ohrenheilkunde. 1e. 1878 [A Text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs, translated Cassels 1893] [2e 1887]
• Politzer A. Die anatomische und histologische Zergliederung des menschlichen Gehörorgans im normalen und kranken Zustande. 1889 [The Anatomical and histological dissection of the human ear: In the Normal and Diseased Condition, translated by Stone 1892]
• Politzer A. Ueber primäre Erkrankung der knöchernen Labyrinthkapsel. Zeitschrift für Ohrenheilkunde 1893; 25: 309-327. [Otosclerosis] [Translated by Spalding JA: Primary disease of the bony labyrinthine capsule. Archives of Otolaryngology 1894; 23: 255-270]
• Politzer A. Lehrbuch der ohrenheilkunde. 3e. 1893. [A Text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs, translated by Oscar Dodd 1894]
• Politzer A. Atlas der Beleuchtungsbilder des Trommelfells im gesunden und kranken Zustande. 1896
• Politzer A. Lehrbuch der ohrenheilkunde: Für Practische Ärzte und Studirende. 4e. 1901 [A Text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs, translated by Ballin and Heller 1903]
• Politzer A, Brühl G. Atlas und Grundriss der Ohrenheilkunde. 1901
• Politzer A. Geschichte der Ohrenheilkunde. [History of ear medicine] 1907 [Band II, 1850-1911]
• Politzer A. Lehrbuch der ohrenheilkunde: Für Practische Ärzte und Studirende. 5e. 1908

References

• von Troeltsch A. Politzer’sche Verfahren zur Wegsammlung der Ohrtrompete. Archiv für Ohrenheilkunde 1864; 1: 28–43.
• Majer EH. Adam Politzer. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 1978;3(3):229-232.
• Mudry A. The role of Adam Politzer (1835-1920) in the history of otology. Am J Otol. 2000; 21(5): 753-763.
• Mudry A, Dekany Z. Adam Politzer (1835-1920): his medical studies and publications in Hungarian. Otol Neurotol. 2004;25(1):72-78
• Mudry A, Kraft M. How Adam politzer (1835-1920) became an otologist. Otol Neurotol. 2005;26(2):292-299.
• Mudry A. Adam Politzer (1835-1920) and the description of otosclerosis. Otol Neurotol. 2006; 27(2): 276-281.
• Mudry A, Young JR. Adam Politzer (1835-1920) and the cochlear nucleus. J Hist Neurosci. 2020; 1-21.
• Mudry A, Young JR. 100 Years on: Politzer’s Greatest Historical Legacy. Otol Neurotol. 2020;
• Mudry A, Young JR. Otitis media with effusion: Politzer’s 100 year legacy. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2020; 136: 110-160.
• Bibliography. Ádám Politzer (1835 – 1920). WorldCat Identities