Crede

CREDE Karl (Karl Crede, 1819-92), one of the leading obstetricians of the 19th century, author of two most beneficial initiatives: 1) replacement of manual removal of the placenta with an external method of expressing the placenta from the uterus (the so-called "Crede's method", see Obstetric Manual Maneuvers) (1861); 2) prophylactic instillation of 1-2% solution of silver nitrate into the eyes of newborns (1881), which almost completely eliminated gonococcal inflammation of the eyes of newborns in obstetric institutions. While still an assistant in Berlin, K. founded the first gynecological department in the world at the Charite Hospital (1850s). As a professor in Leipzig (1856-1887), he raised the Leipzig clinic to a high level, educating entire generations of physicians and midwives. For the latter, Crede wrote a classic textbook. In the year of his death, together with his student Leopold, he published a small manual (there is a Russian translation) on external examination of pregnant women and parturient women. The basic techniques proposed here, the so-called Leopold's maneuvers, minimize the need for internal obstetric examination.