Gertrud Hurler, née Zach (1 September 1889 – 1965), was a German

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

who wrote up a disease that came to be known as

Hurler syndrome Hurler syndrome, also known as mucopolysaccharidosis Type IH (MPS-IH), Hurler's disease, and formerly gargoylism, is a genetic disorder that results in the buildup of large sugar molecules called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in lysosomes. The inabil ...

and a lesser version which is known as

Hurler–Scheie syndrome Hurler–Scheie syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the buildup of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in various organ tissues. It is a cutaneous condition, also characterized by mild mental retardation and corneal clouding. Respiratory problems, slee ...

Life

Gertrud Hurler was born in Taberwiese,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

(now Taborzec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) on 1 September 1889. She was educated in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), before getting her

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

degree at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. She married Konrad Hurler, a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...

, in 1914 and they had a daughter and a son together. Her example inspired her husband to get his own medical certificate. During her post-graduate training in pediatrics at Hauner Children's Hospital, she observed two infants that displayed symptoms of

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

l clouding, dwarfing skeletal

dysplasia Dysplasia is any of various types of abnormal growth or development of cells (microscopic scale) or organs (macroscopic scale), and the abnormal histology or anatomical structure(s) resulting from such growth. Dysplasias on a mainly microscopic ...

, spinal misalignment, and

mental retardation Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

. Previously known as gargoylism or lipochondrodystrophy, the disease was named after her, despite the initial report being given by her chief, Professor von Pfaundler, to the Munich Pediatric Society. Hurler wrote up the case in that was published in the ''Zournal Kinderheilk'' in 1919. That same year she started a private practice as a pediatrician in Neuhausen that lasted until her death in 1965.Ogilvie & Harvey, p. 1299

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurler, Gertrud 1889 births 1965 deaths German pediatricians Women pediatricians