| Bernhard Zondek | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1891 Wronke, Germany |
| Died | November 8, 1966 New York |
| Residence | Jerusalem |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Known for | A-Z pregnancy test |
Bernhard Zondek (Hebrew: ברנרד צונדק) (1891–1966) was a German-Jewish gynecologist who developed the first reliable pregnancy test in 1928.
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Bernhard Zondek was born in Wronke, Germany. He studied medicine in Berlin, graduating in 1919. He worked under Karl Franz at the university women’s clinic in Berlin Charité, where he specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. His older brother, Hermann Zondek, was a professor at University of Berlin and a pioneer of modern endocrinology.[1]
In 1926, he became ausserordentlicher professor, and in 1929, chief physician of the obstetrics and gynecology ward at the municipal hospital of Berlin-Spandau.[2] When the Nazis came to power in 1933, he was dismissed from his posts. He left Germany for Stockholm. In 1940, he immigrated to Palestine, where he was appointed professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and head of obstetrics and gynecology at Hadassah Hospital.[2]
Zondek was one of the proponents of the inter-dependence of the endocrine glands under the control of the pituitary. His studies on pituitary-ovary interaction were instrumental in establishing this fundamental tenet. He discovered that the chorionic tissue of the placenta had endocrine capacity and this led to diagnostic techniques important for the recognition and treatment of hydatiform mole and chorionic carcinoma.[2]
His work with the gynecologist Selmar Aschheim led to his bioassay for human chorionic gonadotropin, originally using mice, known as the Aschheim-Zondek or A-Z test. Later variations on this test used rabbits or amphibians, leading to the phrase "the rabbit died" to describe the discovery of a new pregnancy using the rabbit test.[3]
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