Obersalzbrunn

OBERSALZBRUNN (ObersalzbrunnEN, more correctly Oberbrunnen), one of the 20 springs of the Salzbrunn resort in Silesia, located in a wooded area sheltered from winds, at an altitude of 407 m above sea level. The spring belongs to the type of cold alkaline-carbonic springs with a high content of free CO₂ (1.87 g per 1 l); temperature 8.9-9.5°. Discharge 45-72 hl per day. Specific gravity 1.00138 at 22.5°. Total solid constituents 4.2 g per 1 l, of which: KCl—0.04; NaCl—0.14; Na₂SO₄—0.5; NaHCO₃—2.41; LiHCO₃—0.015; Ca(HCO₃)₂—0.49; Sr(HCO₃)₂—0.004; Mg(HCO₃)₂—0.54; Fe(HCO₃)₂—0.006; H₂SiO₃—0.04, etc. The water also contains NaBr—0.0078, NaJ—0.000005, and traces of barium, aluminum, and boric acid. Obersalzbrunn is used mainly for catarrhal conditions of the respiratory tract, emphysema, and in the early stages of tuberculosis. In these cases, the water is drunk with hot milk. The water is also used for diseases of the digestive organs. The resort utilizes electro-, light-, and water-therapy, mud therapy (fango), and mechanotherapy. There are special installations of various systems for inhalation. Season: from May 1 to October 1. Distance from Breslau—1.5 hours, from Berlin—6 hours. OBERMEIER, Otto (Otto Obermeier, 1843–1873), a German practical physician known for discovering the spirochete of relapsing fever; upon graduating from the University of Berlin in 1867, he worked in the Berlin Charité hospital in the department for nervous and mental diseases, in the smallpox department, and in Virchow's department. In 1868, Obermeier made his famous discovery: he detected the spirochete in the blood of patients with relapsing fever. His first report on this was made to the Berlin Medical Society only on February 26, 1873; this "preliminary" report was followed by two others on March 26 and July 11, 1873 (reports in "Berl. klin. Wochenschr.", 1873, nos. 13, 33, and 38). In connection with the cholera epidemic that began that same year, Obermeier undertook the study of its etiology, investigated the feces of patients at home, and on August 20, 1873, died a victim of his scientific curiosity. In addition to his works on relapsing fever, Obermeier published a number of predominantly clinical and anatomical studies (on smallpox, pathological anatomy of central nervous system disorders, etc.). Obermeier's main works were collected and republished by H. Zeiss in 1926 ("Die Entdeckung von fadenformigen Gebilden im Blut von Rückfallfieberkranken", in the series Klassiker der Medizin, vol. XXXI, Leipzig).