Erich Franz Eugen Bracht

Who was Erich Franz Eugen Bracht?

Erich Franz Eugen Bracht was a German pathologist and gynaecologist born in Berlin.

After finishing his medical education, he worked for several years as an assistant to pathologist Ludwig Aschoff at the University of Freiburg. Later on, he focused his attention to obstetrics and gynaecology, working as an assistant gynecologist in Heidelberg, Kiel and Berlin. In 1922 he became an associate professor at the University of Berlin and eventually director of the Charité Frauenklinik. Following World War II he served as a consultant of gynaecology and obstetrics during the American occupation of Berlin.

While at Freiburg, Bracht made important contributions involving the pathological study of rheumatic myocarditis. With Hermann Julius Gustav Wächter, he described the eponymous "Bracht-Wachter bodies", defined as myocardial microabscesses seen in the presence of bacterial endocarditis.

He is also remembered for the "Bracht manoeuvre", a breech delivery that allows for delivery of the infant with minimum interference.