Richard Paltauf

Richard Paltauf was the brother of Arnold Paltauf (1860-1893), professor of forensic medicine at the German university in Prague. He studied in Graz and received his doctorate there in 1880. From 1881 to 1893 he was assistant to Hans Kundrat (1845-1893) at the chair of pathological anatomy in Graz, and in 1883 became Kundrat’s assistant in Vienna.

Paltauf was habilitated for pathological anatomy at Vienna in 1888, and in 1892 became extraordinary professor of general pathology and pathological histology. In 1893 he took over the prosectorate at the k. k. Krankenanstalt Rudolfsstiftung, and at the same time became head of the university institute for pathological histology and bacteriology.

In 1898 ad personam ordentlicher Professor of pathological histology and general pathology, and from 1900 until his death in 1924 was professor ordinarius for general and experimental pathology.

Paltauf particularly distinguished himself as a pathological anatomist, being a master of pathological histology. He founded a reputed pathological-anatomical school, with Carl Sternberg investigated the lymphogranumomatosi, the tumors of the carotid gland, with Ernst Freund (1863-1946) and Carl Sternberg (1872-1935) worked over the pathology of the blood in Handbuch der allgemeinen Pathologie by Krehl-Marchand, the formation of new skin in Handbuch der Hautkrankheiten (4 volumes, Wien, 1802-1809) by Franz Mracek (1848-1908), with Leo Ritter von Zumbusch (1874-), later with Gustav Scherber (1874-) findings in Mycosis fungoides, and with Eugen von Bamberger (1858-1921) he investigated the osteoplastic carcinoma. He also wrote an outstanding chapter on agglutination in Handbuch der pathogenen Mikroorganismen (Jena, 1902-1909) by Wilhelm Kolle (1868-1935) and August Paul von Wassermann (1866-1925).

Paltauf’s greatest achievement, however, was, with Anton Weichselbaum (1845-1920), the introduction og bacteriology and serology at Vienna. Thanks to him Vienna had an institution for vaccination against rabies and a serotherapeutical institute. From 1905 he was head of the state institute for the production of diphteria serum.