Anton Weichselbaum was an Austrian pathologist and bacteriologist who was a native of Schiltern

Langenlois

Langenlois is a town in the district of Krems-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Famous for its wine production, it is also home to the Loisium, a centre celebrating and advertising the local wine and built by the American deconstructionist architect Steven Holl....

.

He received his medical doctorate in 1869 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and subsequently became an assistant to pathological anatomist Josef Engel (1816—1899). From 1893 until 1916, Weichselbaum was director of the pathological-anatomical institute at the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

. Some of his better known assistants were serologist

Serology

Serology is the scientific study of blood serum and other bodily fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum...

 Karl Landsteiner

Karl Landsteiner

Karl Landsteiner , was an Austrian-born American biologist and physician of Jewish origin. He is noted for having first distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from his identification of the presence of agglutinins in the...

 (1868—1943), bacteriologist Anton Ghon

Anton Ghon

Anton Ghon was an Austrian pathologist who was a native of Villach. In 1890 he earned his medical degree in Graz, and afterwards spent several years at the pathological institute in Vienna, where he worked with Anton Weichselbaum...

 (1866—1936) and dermatologist Josef Kyrle

Josef Kyrle

Josef Kyrle was an Austrian pathologist and dermatologist who was a native of Schärding.He studied medicine at the University of Graz, and afterwards was an assistant to Anton Weichselbaum at the clinic of pathological anatomy at the University of Vienna...

 (1880—1926).

Weichselbaum is remembered for his contributions made in the field of bacteriology, and in 1887 was the first to isolate the causative agent of cerebrospinal meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

, which he called Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis, often referred to as meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life threatening sepsis. N. meningitidis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during childhood in industrialized countries...

. He is also credited with providing the first comprehensive description of local bone erosion in arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

. Weichselbaum did important research involving tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, and founded the first Lungenheilstätte (pulmonary health institute) in Austria (Alland

Alland

Alland is a town in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria. It is about 20 km southwest of Vienna and is one of the many towns in Lower Austria located in the Wienerwald.-History:...

, Niederösterreich).

Written works

Among his written works is Grundriss der pathologischen Histologie (1892), which was later translated into English and published as "The Elements of Pathological Histology

Histology

Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...

". Other noted works by Weichselbaum are the following:

• Über Entstehung und Bekämpfung der Tuberkulose, 1896
• Parasitologie, 1899
• Epidemiologie, 1899
• Über die Infektionswege der menschlichen Tuberkulose, 1907
• Über die Beziehungen zwischen Körperkonstitution und Krankheit, 1912