Carl Julius Peter Behr (28 October 1874 – 16 November 1943) was a German

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In 1909 he described an hereditary syndrome of optic and

neurologic Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

disorders now known as Behr's syndrome. After attending several universities in Germany, he obtained his medical doctorate from the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

in 1900. Later he was an intern and assistant-physician at Eppendorf and St. Georg's hospitals in Hamburg. In 1910 he was habilitated for ophthalmology at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, where in 1916 he became an associate professor. In 1923 he was appointed to the chair of ophthalmology at

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

. Behr specialized in the study of neuro-ophthalmological disorders, making contributions in his research involving the pathological processes in

papilloedema Papilledema or papilloedema is optic disc swelling that is caused by increased intracranial pressure due to any cause. The swelling is usually bilateral and can occur over a period of hours to weeks. Unilateral presentation is extremely rare. In ...

and tabetic

optic atrophy Optic neuropathy is damage to the optic nerve from any cause. The optic nerve is a bundle of millions of fibers in the retina that sends visual signals to the brain. Damage and death of these nerve cells, or neurons, leads to characteristic featu ...

. His name is lent to "Behr's pupil", a slightly dilated

pupil The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black becau ...

in association with an

optic tract In neuroanatomy, the optic tract () is a part of the visual system in the brain. It is a continuation of the optic nerve that relays information from the optic chiasm to the ipsilateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), pretectal nuclei, and su ...

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

that is usually associated with a contralateral

hemiparesis Hemiparesis, also called unilateral paresis, is the weakness of one entire side of the body (''wikt:hemi-#Prefix, hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia, in its most severe form, is the complete paralysis of one entire side of the body. Either hemipar ...

. In 1933 Behr signed the ''

Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State officially translated into English as the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State was a document presented on 11 November 1933 at the Albert Hall in Leipzi ...

''.

Written works

Among his scientific publications was ''Der Augenbefund in seiner diagnostischen und differentialdiagnostischen Bedeutung bei Tabes dorsalis, Lues cerebrospinalis, Multipler Sklerose'' (1936),
Argosy Books a neuro-ophthalmological analysis of eye disorders and their differential diagnostic relevance in

tabes dorsalis Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the Dorsal root ganglion, dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These pati ...

, lues cerebrospinalis and

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. Other noteworthy written works by Behr include: * ''Die Lehre von den Pupillenbewegungen'' Berlin, (1925) * ''Lider-Tränensekretion, Trigeminus, Pupille, Akkomodation, Heterochromie, Sympathikus'' (with Hermann Wilbrand- 1851-1935). In: Handbuch der Neurologie des Auges, 1st supplementary volume, Munich 1927

References

''Carl Behr''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behr, Carl German ophthalmologists Physicians from Hamburg Academic staff of the University of Kiel 1874 births 1943 deaths Academic staff of the University of Hamburg