Semmelweis

American  

[zem-uhl-vahys] / ˈzɛm əlˌvaɪs /

noun

1. Ignaz Philipp 1818–65, Hungarian obstetrician.

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Semmelweis British  

/ ˈsɛməlˌvaɪs /

noun

1. Ignaz Philipp. 1818–65, Hungarian obstetrician, who discovered the cause of puerperal infection and pioneered the use of antiseptics

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Semmelweis Scientific  

/ zĕm′əl-vīs′ /

1. Hungarian physician who was a pioneer of sterile surgical practices. He proved that infectious disease and death in the obstetric clinic were caused by medical students going directly from performing autopsies to treating patients. Semmelweis instituted strict rules governing hygiene that dramatically reduced the mortality rate.

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Example Sentences

These include a cancer biologist at Semmelweis University.

From Science Magazine

But a Semmelweis spokesperson said the researcher’s move to a Saudi affiliation was an “administrative error” that will be corrected.

From Science Magazine

In some ways, Karikó reminds me of another great Hungarian scientist, Ignaz Semmelweis.

From Salon

In 1847, when maternal mortality rates were extremely high at a maternity ward run by doctors at a Vienna hospital, Semmelweis deduced that the physicians were inadvertently killing mothers and babies by refusing to wash their hands.

From Salon

Unlike Karikó, Semmelweis' career was destroyed; he never benefited from the vindication that he deserved during his own lifetime.

From Salon