Joseph Škoda

Joseph Škoda (1805 to 1881) was a Czech-Austrian medical doctor, professor and dermatologist who, together with Carl von Rokitansky, founded the Modern Medical School of Vienna. Born in Plzeň as the second son of a locksmith, he received his medical doctorate at the University of Vienna in 1831 and became professor of the medical clinic in 1846. In 1848 he became the first professor to lecture in German instead of Latin. His great merit lay in developing the physical methods of diagnosis, percussion and auscultation, set out in his 1839 treatise on the subject. In 1841 he set up a separate division for skin diseases, which gave the first impulse to the reorganization of dermatology by Ferdinand von Hebra. He was accused of therapeutic nihilism, though he held that many ailments were cured by supervision and diet.