BERGMANN, ERNST (GUSTAV BENJAMIN) VON

born Dec. 16, 1836, Riga, Latvia died March 25, 1907, Wiesbaden, Ger. German surgeon and author of a classic work on cranial surgery, Die Chirurgische Behandlung der Hirnkrankheiten (1888; The Surgical Treatment of Brain Disorders). Bergmann was educated at Dorpat, where he was professor of surgery from 1871 to 1878. He then taught at Wrzburg until 1882, when he settled at the University of Berlin. In addition to his contributions to cranial surgery, Bergmann is noted for introducing steam sterilization of instruments and dressings (1886), and in 1891 he introduced aseptic methods to the practice of surgery.