Rudolf Schindler (medical doctor)

This article is about the physician Rudolf Schindler. For the architect, see Rudolph Schindler (architect).

Rudolf Schindler (1888–1968) was a German physician, who practiced medicine as a gastroenterologist. He is regarded widely as the "father of gastroscopy."

He was born in Berlin. During the First World War he described numerous diseases involving the human digestive system. He wrote the illustrated textbook, Lehrbuch und Atlas der Gastroskopie (Textbook and Atlas of Gastroscopy).

Between 1928 and 1932 Schindler worked with the Berlin-based instrument-maker and technician, Georg Wolf, on the development of the first semi-flexible gastroscope, which allowed a greater range for examination, facilitating diagnosis and some treatments without abdominal surgery.

With the rise of the Nazi party he was arrested. Upon his release in 1934, he made his way to the United States of America. He settled in Chicago, Illinois, and practiced medicine there until 1943. He then relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he continued his work in gastroenterology until his retirement. including writing two more books in the field of gastroenterology, teaching students, and saving lives.

He spent his final years in Munich, Germany and died in 1968 at the age of eighty.