Felix Fleischner

Biography

• Born 29 July 1893 in Vienna, Austria
• 1919 – Graduated, University of Vienna Medical School
• 1920 – Radiologist at Wilhelminen Hospital
• 1930 – Professor and head of radiology of the Second Medical Clinic of the University of Vienna
• 1932 – Chief of Radiology at Vienna Children’s Hospital
• 1938 – Worked in the Massachusetts General Hospital radiology department following his move to Boston, USA, after Austria was annexed by Germany
• 1942-60 – Worked at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital, later becoming Head of Radiology Department in 1945
• 1950 – Professor of radiology at Harvard University
• 1960 – Professor Emeritus at Harvard University
• 1969 – Was due to join a group of 8 radiologists in the forming a new society to study chest disease through the medium of chest roentgenology. Unfortunately died suddenly whilst swimming in August 1969. Society posthumously named the Fleischner Society in his honour at the first meeting in November 1969
• Died 17 August 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts

Medical Eponyms

Fleischner sign (1959)

Prominent dilated central pulmonary artery. Enlargement can be associated with massive embolus enlarging the luminal diameter of the proximal artery in the acute setting; or pulmonary hypertension in the subacute to chronic setting.

Other Eponyms

• Fleischner lines (1936): chest X-ray findings of horizontal dense lines of atelectasis and healed infarction often located ~1-3cm above the diaphragm dome in the lower lung fields, and vary from barely visible lines to shadows of about 5mm in thickness.
• The Fleischner Society (inaugurated in 1969): an international, multidisciplinary medical society for thoracic radiology, dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the chest.

Major Publications

• Fleischner F. Plattenformige Atelektasen in der Unterlappen der Lunge. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen und der Nuklearmedizin 1936; 54: 315-321. [Fleischner lines]
• Fleischner F, Hampton AO, Castleman B. Linear shadows in the lung. American Journal of Roentgenology 1941; 46: 610-618.
• Fleischner FG. Pulmonary embolism. Can Med Assoc J. 1958 May 1; 78(9): 653–660.
• Fleischner F. Unilateral pulmonary embolism with increased compensatory circulation through the unoccluded lung. Radiology 1959; 73: 591-597 [Fleischner sign]
• Fleischner F. Roentgen diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Heart Bull. 1961 Nov-Dec;10:104-7.
• Fleischner FG. Pulmonary embolism. Clin Radiol. 1962 Jul;13:169-82.

References

• Obituary: Felix Fleischner, MD, FFR (Hon.) Br. J. Radiol 1969; 42 :947
• Fraser RG, Mellins RB. The Fleischner Society: a 30th anniversary retrospective. Radiology. 2000 Mar;214(3):631-2.
• FELIX FLEISCHNER (1893-1969): EXPELLED 1938 [145]. Distributed 1938 – VAN SWIETEN blo
• Maizlin ZV, Cooperberg PL, Clement JJ, Vos PM, Coblentz CL. People Behind Exclusive Eponyms of Radiologic Signs (Part I). Can Assoc Radiol J. 2009 Oct;60(4):201-12.
• Maizlin ZV, Cooperberg PL, Clement JJ, Vos PM, Coblentz CL. People Behind Exclusive Eponyms of Radiologic Signs (Part II). Can Assoc Radiol J. 2010 Feb;61(1):44-53
• Bibliography. Fleischner, Felix. WorldCat Identities
• Cadogan M. CXR eponyms in pulmonary embolism. LITFL