Anton Weichselbaum

Who was Anton Weichselbaum?

Anton Weichselbaum was an Austrian pathologist and bacteriologist born near the town of Langenlois. Weichselbaum was among the first scientists to recognize the importance of bacteriology for the field of pathological anatomy.

In 1869, he received his medical doctorate in Vienna, and subsequently worked as an assistant to pathological anatomist Josef Engel. In 1885, he was appointed an associate professor of pathological histology and bacteriology, and from 1893 to 1916, he was director of the pathological-anatomical institute at the University of Vienna. In 1912, he became university rector.

Some of his better known assistants were serologist Karl Landsteiner, bacteriologist Anton Ghon and dermatologist Josef Kyrle.

In 1887, he was the first to isolate the causative agent of cerebrospinal meningitis, a bacterium he named Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis. He conducted important research involving tuberculosis, and is credited for founding the first Lungenheilstätte in Austria. Also, he provided the first comprehensive description of local bone erosion in arthritis.