[In memory of Carl Thiersch--on the 100th anniversary of his death]

Carl Thiersch is one of the great surgeons of the 19th century. His life, full of work and success was a fortune for surgery. At the occasion of Carl Thiersch's centenary of death a review of his life and an appreciation of his scientific work are presented. His childhood in a family of scientists with an early start of his studies and the different periods of education are described. The influence of his tutor Stromeyer became early visible. The work at the department of pathology of the Munich University was for Thiersch not only a short temporary event but a time of profound scientific activity. The fundamental anatomical research work later on had a high importance for the scientific investigations of Carl Thiersch. The important scientific results achieved during his time at Erlangen and Leipzig University are presented. They were highlights in surgery making the ingenious surgeon well known all over the world. Carl Thiersch was an investigator rich of ideas. He was also a teacher with a phenomenal knowledge and a great expert in anatomical dissecting at operation. Finally he was a charming man with goodness, sensitiveness, modesty and honesty. Carl Thiersch will serve also further generations of surgeons as a noble preceptor.