 In 1847 he earned his doctorate from the University of Prague, and from 1851 to 1854 was a clinical assistant to Johann von Oppolzer (1808-1871) in Vienna.In 1854 he became professor of therapeutic pathology at the University of Würzburg, returning to the University of Vienna in 1872, where he succeeded Oppolzer as professor of special pathology and therapy.Among his assistants in Vienna was internist Edmund von Neusser (1852-1912).