
Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt (there are several variations regarding the arrangement of his 3 middle names; 5 May 1833 – 22 July 1902) was a German
internist
Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...
born in
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
.
Biography
He studied medicine at the
University of Würzburg
The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...
, earning his doctorate in 1856. Subsequently, he was an assistant to
Heinrich von Bamberger
Heinrich von Bamberger (27 December 1822, Prague, Zwornarka, Kingdom of Bohemia – 9 November 1888, Vienna) was an Austrian pathologist. He was father to internist Eugen von Bamberger (1858-1921).
Biography
In 1847, he earned his doctorate from t ...
(1822–1888) and
Franz von Rinecker (1811–1883) in
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
, and worked under
Wilhelm Griesinger
Wilhelm Griesinger (29 July 1817 – 26 October 1868) was a German neurologist and psychiatrist born in Stuttgart.
Life and career
He studied under Johann Lukas Schönlein at the University of Zurich and physiologist François Magendie in Paris ...
(1817–1868) in
Tübingen
Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
.
In 1860 he received his habilitation in Würzburg, and during the following year was appointed professor of medicine and head of the department of internal medicine at the
University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...
. In 1872 he returned to the University of Würzburg to fulfill similar duties. In 1885 he was successor to
pathologist
Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs (1819–1885) at the
Charité
The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where he established the second
internal medicine
Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
clinic. At Berlin, one of his assistants was
immunologist Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich (; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a Nobel Prize-winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Among his foremost achievements were finding a cure fo ...
(1854–1915).
He died in
Gamburg on 22 July 1902. His son, Dietrich Gerhardt (1866–1921), was also a noted physician.
Contributions
Gerhardt is remembered for his pioneer work in
pediatrics
Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...
, being the editor of an influential
textbook
A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...
on
childhood diseases called ''Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten''. He also performed important research involving
auscultation
Auscultation (based on the Latin verb ''auscultare'' "to listen") is listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory system, circulatory and resp ...
and
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
, and conducted investigations of
diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
. Gerhardt used
iron chloride to detect
acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone) is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly Volatile organic compound, volatile, and flammable liquid with a charact ...
in diabetes (Gerhardt's reaction). In 1892 he provided an early description of
erythromelalgia
Erythromelalgia, or Mitchell's disease (after Silas Weir Mitchell (physician), Silas Weir Mitchell), is a rare vascular peripheral pain disorder in which blood vessels, usually in the Human leg, lower extremities or hands, are episodically blocke ...
, a condition once referred to as "Gerhardt’s disease".
Associated eponym
* "Gerhardt’s law" (on vocal paralysis): Which states that in
paralysis
Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
of the periodically recurring
laryngeal nerve, the
vocal cords
In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...
assume a position between
abduction and
adduction
Motion, the process of movement, is described using specific anatomical terms. Motion includes movement of organs, joints, limbs, and specific sections of the body. The terminology used describes this motion according to its direction relativ ...
. Position also known as the "cadaver position".
Selected writings
* ''Lehrbuch der Kinderkrankheiten''. Tübingen, 1861. 4 editions.
* ''Studien und Beobachtungen über Stimmbandlähmung''.
Virchow's Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1863, 27: 68–69, 296–321.
* ''Lehrbuch der Auscultation und Percussion''. Tübingen, 1876.
* ''Über Erythromelalgie''. Berliner klinische Wochenschrift, 1892; 29: 1125.
* ''Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten'' (multi-volume, 1877–1893). Published by Carl Gerhardt. Tübingen, H. Laupp.
Archive.org
Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten
He also contributed numerous articles to the ''Archiv für klinische Medicin''.
Notes
References
at 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:Gerhardt, Carl
German pediatricians
1833 births
1902 deaths
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
University of Würzburg alumni
People from Speyer
Academic staff of the University of Jena
Academic staff of the University of Würzburg
German internists