Adam Politzer

Adam Politzer (1835--1920) received his degree as Doctor of Medicine in 1859. His method of tubal inflation of the middle car with the Politzer bag was published in 1863. Together with J. Gruber, he was appointed director of the newly-founded Clinic for Otology of the University of Vienna, the first clinic of its kind in the world. Thousands of doctors from all over the world came to Vienna to attend his advanced training courses. He was aided in his teaching by his textbook, Lehrbuch der Ohrenheilkunde, which was translated into several languages. Under Politzer, Vienna became a Mecca for otologists. In 1893, Politzer demonstrated focal alterations of the otic capsule as being the cause of otosclerosis for the first time. He published 103 scientific papers. During his 46 years of teaching, Politzer transformed otology from a "sterile, hopeless discipline" into an academically recognized specialty.