Carl Wilhelm Boeck

{{Short description|Norwegian dermatologist}}

File:Carl Wilhelm Boeck.png

Carl Wilhelm Boeck (December 15, 1808 – December 10, 1875) was a Norwegian dermatologist.

{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Carl_Wilhelm_Boeck|title= Carl Wilhelm Boeck|publisher = Store norske leksikon |author= Svein Atle Skålevåg

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He was born at Kongsberg in Buskerud, Norway. In 1831 he earned his medical degree from the University of Christiania (now University of Oslo). From 1833 to 1846, he practiced medicine in Kongsberg. Afterwards, he became a lecturer of dermatology and surgery at the University of Christiania and later attained a full professorship (1851-1869). He was also physician at Rikshospitalet (1850-1875).

.{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Wilhelm_Boeck|title= Wilhelm Boeck|publisher = Norsk biografisk leksikon |author= Lars Walløe

|accessdate= January 1, 2017 }}{{cite web|url= https://sml.snl.no/Rikshospitalet|title= Rikshospitalet|publisher = Store medisinske leksikon |author= Geir Sverre Braut |editor-last=Nylenna |editor-first= Magne |editor-link= Magne Nylenna |accessdate= January 1, 2017 }}

Boeck specialized in research and treatment of syphilis. He is remembered for his experiments with "syphilization", which was a form of vaccination against the disease.{{Cite journal |last=Hanley |first=Anne |date=2017 |title=Syphilization and Its Discontents: Experimental Inoculation against Syphilis at the London Lock Hospital |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28366895/ |journal=Bulletin of the History of Medicine |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.1353/bhm.2017.0001 |issn=1086-3176 |pmid=28366895}} The practice consisted of repeated inoculations of secretion from "soft chancre", until inoculation caused no further reaction. Boeck wasn't the first physician to use syphilization, as it was earlier attempted by Joseph-Alexandre Auzias-Turenne (1813–1870), who experimented with syphilization on laboratory animals.[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHo9AgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Auzias-Turenne%22+1812&pg=PA275 Tapeworms, Lice, and Prions: A Compendium of Unpleasant Infections] by David Grove{{cite web|url= http://www.artandmedicine.com/biblio/authors/french/AuziasTurenne.html|title= Auzias-Turenne, Joseph-Alexandre, 1813-1870|publisher = artandmedicine.com

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In the 1840s, with dermatologist Daniel Cornelius Danielssen (1815–1894), Boeck conducted research of leprosy. From their studies, the two physicians collaborated on an important treatise on leprosy called Om Spedalskhed. At the time, Boeck and Danielssen believed leprosy to be an hereditary disease.

Later in his career, he visited the United States in order to research leprosy among Norwegian-American immigrants.{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Daniel_Cornelius_Danielssen|title=Daniel Cornelius Danielssen |publisher = Daniel Cornelius Danielssen |author= Svein Atle Skålevåg

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