title: Max Sänger - father of the modern caesarean section.
abstract: The major turning point in the development of the caesarean section appeared in 1882, when the German gynaecologist Max Sänger (1853-1903) suggested closing the uterine wound. Until this point, the wound was not sutured and so haemorrhage was a common cause of maternal death. Sänger's method quickly became standard, leading to a spectacular drop in maternal mortality. Sänger was one of the most renowned German gynaecologists at the end of the 19th century. He contributed to the entire fields of obstetrics and gynaecology, in particular in founding Monatsschrift für Geburtshülfe und Gynaekologie, the predecessor of this journal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. erlend.hem@basalmed.uio.no
authors.forename: Erlend
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hem
authors.forename: Per E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Børdahl
mesh_terms: D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000266:history