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Lorenz Heister (Latin: Laurentius Heister) (19 September 1683-18 April 1758) was a German anatomist, surgeon and botanist born in Frankfurt am Main.
In 1708, he earned his doctorate from the University of Harderwijk, and in the summer of 1709, rejoined the Dutch military as a field surgeon during the Siege of Tournai. Shortly afterwards, he distinguished himself in treatment of the wounded from the Battle of Malplaquet.
In 1711, he was appointed professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Altdorf, and from 1720, was a professor of anatomy and surgery at Helmstedt, where he remained for the rest of his life. During his tenure at Helmstedt, he also taught classes in botany and practical medicine. In 1730 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Among his numerous writings, his best-known work is Chirurgic, a book on surgery that was translated into several languages. It was used extensively in Japan, and was still employed as a standard text at Vienna as late as 1838. Heister's botanical garden in Helmstedt was considered one of the most beautiful in Germany.
In 1718, he coined the word "tracheotomy". Also, he is credited for being the first physician to perform a post-mortem section of appendicitis. His name is lent to the plant genus Heisteria, as well as to the spiral valves of Heister, defined as anatomical folds of the cystic duct. He died in Bornum am Elm.
His botanical writings were published as Beschreibung eines neuen Geschlechts in 1755, with illustrated descriptions of plants.
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