Oskar Lassar

Oskar Lassar (11 January 1849 – 21 December 1907) was a German dermatologist who was a native of Hamburg.

Oskar Lassar (1849-1907)

After earning his medical doctorate in 1872, he worked briefly as a hospital assistant at the Berlin Charité. He later started a private hospital for dermatology and syphilis in Berlin. His clinic was known for being technologically advanced, and it was the first to have a Finsen ultraviolet light therapy device and X-ray machine.[1] In 1902 he became a professor at the University of Berlin.

Lassar is remembered for the creation of public bath houses for low-income individuals in Germany and Austria. These bath houses were constructed in the interest of public hygiene, at a time when poorer people didn't have private baths or showers. In Germany, the bath-houses were called Volksbad, and in Austria- Tröpferlbad. In 1899, Lassar was founder of the German Society for Volksbädern. One of his slogans was "a weekly bath for every German."[1]

He was very social, and he invited physicians who made referrals to his clinic to a champagne breakfast twice a year.[1]

Lassar was among the first physicians in Europe to employ X-ray technology for therapeutic purposes. Also, he developed a zinc paste for treatment of eczema, an ointment that is still used today and known as "Lassar's paste".[2] In addition, Lassar was the first to assemble a collection of moulage (model injuries for training purposes) in Germany.

He was founder of the dermatology journal Dermatologische Zeitschrift and was its editor from 1893 until his death in 1907.