Christian Albert Theodor Billroth was a brilliant surgeon who pioneered new techniques in abdominal surgery and added substantially to what was know at the time about cancers of gastrointestinal tract.

Born in Bergen in 1829 to a family of Swedish origin, Billroth studied at universities in both Sweden and Germany. After receiving a doctor's degree from Berlin in 1852, he visited many of Europe's leading medical schools including those in Vienna, Prague, Paris, Edinburgh, and London, to complete his medical education.

Upon returning to Berlin, Billroth began work as an assistant to B. R. K. Langenbeck at Langenbeck's surgical clinic. In 1860, Billroth was appointed professor of surgery and director of the surgical clinic at the University of Zäurich where he stayed for seven years. He then accepted a similar position at the University of Vienna, where he remained for the remainder of his life.

Billroth was one of...