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 ...

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

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