Beyond the Trendelenburg position: Friedrich Trendelenburg's life and surgical contributions

Friedrich Trendelenburg (1844-1924) was a giant figure in the formative yea rs of modern surgical practice. His name lives on in the Trendelenburg posi tion, a pelvis-up, head-down position that is of great use in surgical prac tice. That position, however, was certainly well known before Trendelenburg and the linkage of his name was by no means the greatest of Trendelenburg' s achievement. Trendelenburg was a world class surgeon, innovator, and educ ator who made novel advances that spanned the entire range of surgical prac tice.