Hermann Senator (6 December 1834 – 14 July 1911) 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 ...

who was a native of Gnesen in the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

(now Gniezno, Wielkopolska, Poland). Of

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 ...

descent, 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 ...

, where he received his medical doctorate in 1857. Among his instructors in Berlin were

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

(1801-1858), Johann Lukas Schönlein (1793-1864) and

Ludwig Traube Ludwig Traube may refer to: *Ludwig Traube (physician) (1818–1876), German physician and co-founder of experimental pathology in Germany *Ludwig Traube (palaeographer) (1861–1907), his son, German paleographer {{hndis, Traube, Ludwig ...

(1818-1876). In 1875, he became chief physician in the

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 ...

department at the Augusta-Hospital, and in 1881 became head physician at the Berlin

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 ...

. After the death of Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs (1819-1885), he served as head of the "first medical clinic" at Berlin for a few months. In 1888 his department at the Charité was made into the "third medical clinic", expanded and made a part of a policlinic with Senator as its director. Beginning in 1872 he was co-editor of "''Centralblatt für die medizinischen Wissenschaften''". Hermann Senator made several contributions in

, in particular, involving research in the field of

nephrology Nephrology is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (renal physiology) and kidney disease (renal pathophysiology), the preservation of kid ...

. He was the author of influential works associated with

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 ...

and

albuminuria Albuminuria is a pathological condition of elevated albumin protein in the urine (often measured as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of >30 milligrams of albumin per 1 gram of creatinine per day). It is a type of proteinuria, and is the most com ...

, and is credited with disproving the once-held belief that albuminuria was always a sign of primary kidney disease. His treatise on diseases of the kidneys, "''Die Erkrankungen der Nieren''", was included in Nothnagel's textbook of special pathology and therapy. Senator was also the author of a significant study on fevers, titled "''Untersuchungen über den fieberhaften Process und seine Behandlung''" (Investigations of the febrile process and its treatment). In 1868 he introduced his theory of "autointoxication", of which he speculated that "self-infection" originating in the

intestines The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. ...

could be a source of disease elsewhere in the human body. He also believed that autointoxication could be the root cause of certain mental disorders.

Selected publications

* ''Untersuchungen über den fieberhaften Process und seine Behandlung''. * ''Die Krankheiten des Bewegungsapparates. Diabetes mellitus und insipidus'' (Diseases of the

musculoskeletal system The human musculoskeletal system (also known as the human locomotor system, and previously the activity system) is an organ system that gives humans the ability to move using their Muscular system, muscular and Human skeleton, skeletal systems. ...

Diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

and

diabetes insipidus Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a condition characterized by large amounts of dilute urine and increased thirst. The amount of urine produced can be nearly 20 liters per day. Reduction of fluid has little effect on the concentration of the urine. ...

. Included in Hugo Wilhelm von Ziemssen's "Handbuch der speciellen Pathologie und Therapie". 2nd edition, 1879. * ''Die Albuminurie im gesunden und kranken Zustande''. Berlin, A. Hirschwald, 1882, (Albuminuria in healthy and diseased states); translated into several foreign languages. * ''Die Erkrankungen der Nieren''. (Diseases of the kidneys) In: Carl Wilhelm Hermann Nothnagel's "Handbuch der speciellen Pathologie und Therapie". * "Diseases of kidney and the spleen, hemorrhagic diseases". Philadelphia, 1905, (with

Moritz Litten Moritz Litten (August 10, 1845 – May 31, 1907) was a German physician who was a native of Berlin. He was a son-in-law to pathologist Ludwig Traube (1818–1876). Biography He studied medicine at the Universities of Heidelberg, Marburg and B ...

and Alfred Stengel).Google Books
Diseases of the kidneys and of the spleen, etc.

References

Sources

* *

External links

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 ...

The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senator, Hermann German people of Jewish descent German nephrologists 19th-century German physicians 1834 births 1911 deaths People from Gniezno