Friedrich Stelzner (4 November 1921 – 5 June 2020) was a German academic surgeon, scientist and educator with specialization in gastrointestinal surgery. He served consecutively as Professor and Chairman of three university departments and was inducted as President of the German Society for Surgery in 1985. Stelzner contributed more than 80 books and book chapters to the literature and authored over 450 publications and presentations. Throughout his scientific career, Stelzner investigated questions of functional anatomy and its impact on surgical operative methods.