He studied medicine at the universities of Berlin, Kiel and Freiburg and furthered his education in Vienna and Paris.
While a student, his influences were Maximilian Nitze in Berlin, Leopold Ritter von Dittel in Vienna and Jean Casimir Félix Guyon in Paris.
In 1891, he received his medical doctorate, and shortly afterwards, he settled in Berlin as a specialist of urinary diseases.
[3] Along with Ernst von Bergmann, he is regarded as one of the founders of the medical training system in Germany.
[4][3] In 1904, with Bergmann and hygienist Martin Kirchner, he founded the publication Zeitschrift für ärztliche Fortbildung ("Journal of Medical Education").