1823-1908

German surgeon and inventor of Esmarch's apparatus, a rubber bandage that was used as a tourniquet to perform bloodless surgery. Von Esmarch's experience as an army surgeon inspired his development of his surgical techniques, which included his design of a triangular cloth bandage, carried by soldiers, and his promotion of the aspectic handling of wounds. His textbook, Surgical Techniques (1901), became a classic in the field of general surgery.