Paul von Bruns

BRUNS, Paul (Paul von Bruns, 1846–1916), a well-known German surgeon; he received his medical education in Tübingen and Berlin, and was an assistant in the surgical clinic of his father, the famous founder of endolaryngeal surgery, whom he replaced in 1881, becoming the head of the clinic. Among Bruns's works on the most diverse branches of surgery, those on the improvement of methods for treating wounds are especially valuable. Together with Bergmann, Bruns sought to modify the Listerian dressing, moving toward dry dressings, which served as a transitional stage to modern aseptic dressings. Many

of Bruns's works are devoted to questions of military field surgery ('Gunshot Wounds of the Urinary Bladder', 1873; 'Antisepsis in War', 1879, and others). Bruns's merit in the popularization of ether anesthesia, which long met with objections from surgeons in Germany, is great. At a number of congresses and meetings of scientific societies, Bruns spoke passionately in favor of ether anesthesia, and his name is justly associated with the introduction of this anesthesia in Germany. Bruns enjoyed the reputation of an outstanding educator. Also extremely important is Bruns's activity in the literary field. He founded the well-known journal 'Beiträge zur klinischen Chirurgie', which at the present time, in his honor, bears the name 'Bruns' Beiträge zur klinischen Chirurgie'. A few days before his death (1916), Bruns edited the hundredth volume of the journal. After the death of Billroth, Bruns became the head of the well-known publication 'Deutsche Chirurgie', and later founded 'Neue deutsche Chirurgie' (a collection of monographs on various questions of surgery). Finally, he is, together with Bergmann, the creator of the classic work 'Handbuch der praktischen Chirurgie'. BRUNS' SYMPTOM (Bruns), a sharp headache with vomiting and dizziness, occurring in attacks upon rapid turns of the head. Between attacks, the patient's condition is satisfactory. Bruns, who described the symptom in 1902, considers it a pathognomonic sign of a cysticercus of the fourth ventricle; on the basis of this symptom, Bruns correctly made the diagnosis during the patient's life, which was confirmed at autopsy. Oppenheim evaluates the significance of the symptom very highly, but acknowledges that in rare cases it may also occur in other diseases.