Theodor Karl Gustav von Leber (29 February 1840 – 17 April 1917) was a German

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

from

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Leber was a student of

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...

(1821-1894) in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where he received his doctorate in 1862. He remained in

as an assistant to

Hermann Jakob Knapp Jacob Hermann Knapp (March 17, 1832 – April 30, 1911), also known as Hermann Knapp, was a German-American ophthalmologist and otolaryngologist. Biography Knapp was born in Dauborn, Nassau. He earned his medical degree from the University of ...

(1832-1911) at the Heidelberg eye clinic, afterwards studying

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

under

Carl Ludwig Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (; 29 December 1816 – 23 April 1895) was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branche ...

(1816-1895) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. From 1867 until 1870 he was an assistant to ophthalmologist

Albrecht von Graefe Albrecht von Graefe may refer to: * Albrecht von Graefe (ophthalmologist) (1828-1870), Prussian ophthalmologist * Albrecht von Graefe (politician) (1868-1933), German politician and landowner {{hndis, Graefe, Albrecht von ...

(1828-1870) 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 ...

. In 1871, he became director of the university eye clinic in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, and from 1890 to 1910 was director of the eye clinic in Heidelberg. Leber was the first to describe what is now known as

Leber's congenital amaurosis Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare inherited eye disease that appears at birth or in the first few months of life. It affects about 1 in 40,000 newborns. LCA was first described by Theodor Leber in the 19th century. It should not be ...

in 1869 and

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrially inherited (transmitted from mother to offspring) degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons that leads to an acute or subacute loss of central vision; it predomin ...

in 1871.Man PY, Turnbull DM, Chinnery PF

"Leber hereditary optic neuropathy." ''J Med Genet.'' 2002 Mar;39(3):162-9. . An anatomical structure called "Leber's plexus" is named after him, which is a small venous

plexus In anatomy, a plexus (from the Latin term for 'braid') is a branching network of blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, or nerves. The nerves are typically axons outside the central nervous system. The standard plural form in English is plexuses. Al ...

in the eye located between

Schlemm's canal Schlemm's canal, also known as the canal of Schlemm, and as the scleral venous sinus, is a circular Lymph, lymphatic-like vessel in the human eye, eye. It collects aqueous humor from the anterior chamber and delivers it into the episcleral blood ...

(named after German anatomist

Friedrich Schlemm Friedrich Schlemm (11 December 1795 – 27 May 1858) was a German anatomist who was professor at the University of Berlin. He was born in Salzgitter. As his family could not afford higher education, he was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon in Brauns ...

) and Fontana's spaces (named after Italian physicist

Felice Fontana Abbé Gasparo Ferdinando Felice Fontana (15 April 1730 – 9 March 1805) was an Italian polymath who contributed to experimental studies in physiology, toxicology, and physics. As a physicist he discovered the water gas shift reaction in 1780. He ...

). A scholarship given by the German Ophthalmological Society is named after Leber, and is called the ''Theodor-Leber-Stipendium zur Förderung der pharmakologischen und pharmakophysiologischen Forschung in der Augenheilkunde''.

References

1840 births 1917 deaths German ophthalmologists Physicians from Karlsruhe People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of Heidelberg University Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen {{Germany-med-bio-stub