Semmelweis Ignaz Philipp

Sem·mel·weis

 (zĕm′əl-vīs′), Ignaz Philipp Originally Ignác Fülöp Semmelweis. 1818-1865.

Hungarian physician who determined that puerperal fever in a maternity clinic in Vienna was spread by doctors and students who examined pregnant women directly after performing autopsies. The mortality rate dropped after he required staff members to disinfect their hands before examinations.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.