Karl Theodor Fahr (; 3 October 1877 – 29 October 1945) was a German

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 ...

born in

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

of the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. In 1903 he earned his medical doctorate from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

, afterwards continuing his studies with Eugen Bostroem (1850-1926) in Giessen, under Morris Simmonds (1855-1925) in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and with Ilya Ilyich Metchnikoff (1845-1916) in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1924, he became director of the pathological institute at the

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (German: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, UKE) is the teaching hospital of the University of Hamburg and the largest hospital in Hamburg, Germany. The UKE has 1,738 beds and 121 day-care pla ...

. Fahr is remembered for his work in

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 ...

and research of

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

disorders. With

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 ...

Franz Volhard Franz Volhard (2 May 1872 – 24 May 1950) was a German internist born in Munich. Academic career He studied medicine at the universities of University of Bonn, Bonn, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, and University of Halle, Halle. As a st ...

(1872-1950) he published a comprehensive

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

titled ''Die Brightsche Nierenkrankheit''. In 1923, he provided an early correlation between

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

(''Bronchialkarzinom'') and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

smoking. Today his name is associated with Fahr's disease, which is a degenerative

neurological 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 s ...

disorder characterized by calcifications and cell loss within the

basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG) or basal nuclei are a group of subcortical Nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei found in the brains of vertebrates. In humans and other primates, differences exist, primarily in the division of the globus pallidus into externa ...

. Fahr was however not the first describe the disease and there are suggestions that the eponym be avoided. In 1933 Fahr signed the ''

Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State officially translated into English as the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State was a document presented on 11 November 1933 at the Albert Hall in Leipzi ...

''. He committed suicide in 1945.

Selected writings

* ''Die Bright’sche Nierenkrankheit: Klinik, Pathologie und Atlas''. (Bright's kidney disease: clinic, pathology and atlas); with

, Springer, Berlin 1914. * ''Die Nierengewächse''. In: Friedrich Henke und

Otto Lubarsch Otto Lubarsch (4 January 1860 – 1 April 1933) was a German pathologist and academic who was a native of Berlin. Among other contributions to medical knowledge, Lubarsch provided the first detailed description of carcinoid tumors. Academic ...

(Hrsg.): Handbuch der speziellen pathologischen Anatomie und Histologie. Band 6, 1. Berlin 1925. * ''Zusammenhangstrennung und durch Gewaltanwendung bedingte krankhafte Veränderungen des Nierenbeckens und des Harnleiters''. In: Friedrich Henke und Otto Lubarsch (Hrsg.): Handbuch der speziellen pathologischen Antomie und Histologie. Band 6, 1. Berlin 1925. - Connection and disconnection caused by morbid changes of the

renal pelvis The renal pelvis or pelvis of the kidney is the funnel-like dilated part of the ureter in the kidney. It is formed by the convergence of the major calyces, acting as a funnel for urine flowing from the major calyces to the ureter. It has a mucous ...

and

ureter The ureters are tubes composed of smooth muscle that transport urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In an adult human, the ureters typically measure 20 to 30 centimeters in length and about 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter. They are lin ...

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the German (Hamburg) Wikipedia'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahr, Karl Theodor 1877 births 1945 deaths People from Pirmasens German pathologists Academic staff of the University of Hamburg University of Giessen alumni Suicides in Germany