Professor Max Pettenkofer (1818–1901) – a prominent German hygienist and health care manager (to the 125^th anniversary of his death)

The article is dedicated to the outstanding German scientist-innovator, physician, and hygienist, Professor Max von Pettenkofer (1818–1901). He belonged to the scientific elite of the 19^th century. Little-known facts from the life of the scientist are given. It is noted that thanks to his rigorous search for the laws of nature and the struggle for scientific truth, M. Pettenkofer left a significant mark on science. In the field of hygiene, he looked for ways and means of maintaining health and preventing diseases. With his methodology of consistent application of the experimental method in the field of public health, M. Pettenkofer helped the hygienic discipline provide accurate and reliable answers to sanitary questions. There is analyzed circumstance that in his experimental work on hygiene, M. Pettenkofer looked for an answer to all current questions concerning the relationship between human and his environment. For productive movement in this direction, M. Pettenkofer combined then the progressive knowledge of medicine with physics, chemistry, technology, and statistics. Thus, modern “cross-thinking” made hygiene the first interdisciplinary medical field, and of course, professor M. Pettenkofer deserves a great deal of credit for this.

Contributions. All authors made substantial contributions to the conception, conduct of the study, and preparation of the article. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 3, 2025 / Accepted: October 15, 2025 / Published: April 17, 2026

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