The personal and scientific feud between Ernst Brücke and Josef Hyrtl.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the events surrounding the personal and professional feud between Josef Hyrtl and Ernst Brücke and its impact on early investigations into the function of the semicircular canals of the inner ear. DATA SOURCES: Published data in scientific journals and news media, documents at the Vienna Institute for the History of Medicine, published personal letters, and an interview with Brücke's great-grandson, Dr. Thomas Brücke. CONCLUSION: Although Hyrtl was instrumental in recruiting Brücke to the University of Vienna, the two professors soon became embroiled in a feud that persisted throughout their academic careers. The difference in approach of these two giants in their field is well illustrated by their views on the function of the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Based on their shape, Hyrtl concluded that they were important for directional hearing, whereas based on animal experiments, Brücke concluded that they were sense organs for equilibrium.