Israel

Israel, James (1848-1926), one of the foremost German urologists and surgeons. After graduating from the University of Berlin in 1872, I. became an assistant to Langenbeck, who at that time was chief physician at the Berlin Jewish Hospital. In 1875, Langenbeck ceded his position to I., who held it until his death. From 1884, I. became particularly interested in questions of renal surgery, to which its development in Germany is mainly due. In 1901, his classic work was published: "Chirurgische Klinik der Nierenkrankheiten" (B., 1901). In 1925, he published a textbook together with his son (Israel J. u. Israel W., "Chirurgie der Nieren und des Harnleiters", Lpz., 1925), which was based on 2,000 kidney operations performed by him personally. Renal patients from all sides traveled to I., wishing to undergo operations under him. I. had a reputation as a good diagnostician. One must marvel at the technique of his research - he was able to palpate in the depths of tissues concretions barely distinguishable on an X-ray. It should be noted that at the beginning of his career, he was a staunch opponent of catheterization of the ureters as a research method. The merits of I. were recognized during his lifetime: he was an honorary member of a number of scientific societies, chairman of the society of German surgeons and urologists, president of the international congress of urologists, etc.