Historica Olomucensia

Alexander Kolisko was born in Vienna in 1857, the son of obstetrician Eugen Kolisko and Luise Bach, and sister of former Minister of the Interior Alexan­der von Bach. After graduating from the Viennese Faculty of Medicine in 1881, he was an assistant to his mentor, Hans Kundrat, while also conducting research in pathological anatomy. He published his research in 1884 with the article Zur Kenntniss der Carcinoma psammosum ovarii. He published artic­les concerned with several distinct areas of his field, but his most important works focused on deformations of the pelvis (Die pathologischen Beckenformen) and sudden death from natural causes (Plötzlicher Tod aus natürlicher Ursachen). He was named extraordinary professor of pathological anatomy in 1892, leading his department for a short time after Hans Kundrat's death in 1893. He remained a lecturer and researcher. In 1897, after the death of the chair of forensic medicine Eduard von Hofmann, Kolisko replaced him in his position, also being named ordinary professor of forensic medicine. While being an apt prosector (he was even named chief prosector of Vienna in 1890), he also tried to honor the legacy of his predecessors. He led the department until 1916, when he was named chair (and ordinary professor) of pathological anatomy. He was also voted Dean of the Faculty of Medicine on two separate occasions. He died in 1918 as a respected pathologist.

Keywords: Alexander Kolisko; Kolisko family; Pathology; History of medicine; Fo­rensic medicine; Nineteenth century Vienna; Second Viennese School of Medicine