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Emil Theodor Kocher
Surgeon

Emil Theodor Kocher

Famoose for

Advancing thyroid surgery and understanding thyroid function.

Thyroid operations · Asepsis

Born
25 August 1841
Birthplace
Bern
Died
27 July 1917

More people

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Emil Theodor Kocher

Emil Theodor Kocher was a Swiss surgeon awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Early life

Education

Grew up in Bern and Burgdorf and studied medicine at the University of Bern before visiting leading European surgeons.

Career

  1. 1867

    Bern

    Became a surgical assistant and qualified to teach.

  2. 1872

    Surgical chair

    Became professor of surgery and director of the university clinic.

  3. 1909

    Nobel Prize

    Received the award for work on the thyroid.

Contributions

Thyroid operations

Improved operative technique and investigated consequences of removing the gland.

Asepsis

Promoted infection prevention and systematic surgical methods.

Beyond research

Family

Married Marie Witschi-Courant in 1869; they had three sons.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: User Magnus Manske on en.wikipedia; Unknown photographer. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.