Otto Lanz, surgeon and art collector

Otto Lanz (1865-1935) was educated in Switzerland, where he was trained in the surgical clinic of Theodore Kocher. In 1902, he was appointed as a professor of surgery in Amsterdam, remaining there until his death. He was wellknown for his surgery of the thyroid gland and for his studies on the vermiform appendix. He defined a point in acute appendicitis, to which his name has been eponymously attached (Lanz's point). His wide scope of interests is pictured, ranging from his invention of meshing a split-skin graft, to his antithyroid therapy, giving thyreotoxic patients the milk to drink of thyroidectomised goats. Apart from his professional achievements, he was a great connoisseur and passionate collector of Italian Renaissance art. Part of his collection was exhibited in the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, as perpetuated in the Lanz room until acquired for Hitler's proposed Führermuseum during World War II. After the capitulation, the collection was returned to The Netherlands.