In 1888 he received his doctorate at the University of Leipzig, and as a young assistant worked under Robert Koch (1843–1910) at the Reich Health Office in Berlin.
[1] At Greifswald he succeeded August Bier (1861–1949) as director of the Surgical University Hospital.
He is remembered for his studies of wound treatment and his efforts to reduce bacterial infections.
Through experimentation, he demonstrated the importance of debridement (removal of infected tissue) within a six-hour time limit.
He is credited for introducing the practice of using seamless rubber gloves during surgery.