There have been many great physicians of notoriety throughout history. However, one of the greatest Swiss pediatricians would most certainly be Guido Fanconi.

Born in 1892, Fanconi's birthplace was an area of Switzerland that was considered to be an Italian-speaking area. He would enter the Children's Hospital at the University of Zurich in 1920 and remain there for the next forty-five years.

Considered one of the founders of modern pediatrics, Fanconi helped name various medical diseases and his name was placed on several medical conditions he helped describe. Fanconi anemia was one of those medical discoveries that Guido Fanconi fully understood.

1934 brought with it a new understanding of cystic fibrosis. Fanconi led others in writing a thesis on the new understanding of cystic fibrosis of the pancreas.

Guido Fanconi made a remarkable discovery regarding Down Syndrome. He understood that the syndrome few knew very much about was in fact, due to a chromosomal abnormality.

Guido Fanconi retired in 1965 from medicine. However, even after his retirement, Fanconi continued to have status in the medical community. As a sought after medical professional, Guido Fanconi went on to lecture at medical meetings and conventions long after his official retirement and before his death in 1979.