Emanuel Mendel (October 28, 1839 – June 23, 1907) was a German
neurologist
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 ...
and
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
who was a university professor (from 1884 an associate professor) and director of a polyclinic 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 ...
. He was born in
Bunzlau,
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław.
The first ...
; (today known as Bolesławiec, Poland) into a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family.
He studied medicine 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 ...
and in 1871 received his habilitation for psychiatry.
[Biografie, Emmanuel Mendel]
Wissenschaftliche Sammlungen an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Mendel was an advocate in regards to the unification of psychiatry and neurology as complementary disciplines. Among his better-known students and assistants were
Max Bielschowsky
Max Israel Bielschowsky (20 February 1869 – 15 August 1940) was a German neuropathologist born in Breslau.
After receiving his medical doctorate from the University of Munich in 1893, he worked with Ludwig Edinger (1855–1918) at the Senc ...
(1869–1940),
Edward Flatau
Edward Flatau (27 December 1868 – 7 June 1932) was a Polish neurologist and psychiatrist. He was a co-founder of the modern Polish neurology, an authority on the physiology and pathology of meningitis, co-founder of medical journals ''Neurolo ...
(1869–1932),
Lazar Minor
Lazar Solomonovich Minor (; 17 December 1855 – 1942) was a Russian neurologist who was a native of Vilnius.
Minor received his education at the University of Moscow, where he was a student of Aleksei Kozhevnikov (1836–1902). Afterwards, he wo ...
(1855–1942) and
Louis Jacobsohn-Lask (1863–1940)
Mendel is remembered for the introduction of
duboisine, an extract from the Australian plant ''
Dubosia myoporoides'', as a treatment for
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
. Also, he conducted important studies of
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
and progressive
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 ...
.
[
Among his medical writings was a textbook on psychiatry titled ''Leitfaden der Psychiatrie für Studirende der Medizin'' (1902), later translated into English and published as "Text-book of psychiatry : A psychological study of insanity for practitioners and students".Open Library]
Text-book of psychiatry Also, he was founder and publisher of the neurological/psychiatric magazine ''Neurologisches Centralblatt''.
[
Mendel was interested in politics, and was a member of the Reichstag from 1877 to 1881.][
]
References
Notes
* '' Parts of this article are based on translations of articles from the German and Polish Wikipedia''.
*
*
1839 births
1907 deaths
People from Bolesławiec
Physicians from the Province of Silesia
Jewish German politicians
19th-century German Jews
German Progress Party politicians
Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire
Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire
German psychiatrists
Jewish physicians
German neurologists
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
Prussian physicians
19th-century German physicians
{{Germany-psychiatrist-stub