Bernhard Naunyn (1839–1925)

Abstract

BERNHARD NAUNYN, an eminent German physician and experimental pathologist, was born on September 2,1939, in Berlin, where he studied medicine under Lieberkühn, Reichert and Frerichs. He qualified in 1862, and after acting as clinical assistant to Frerichs for some years, became successively professor of medicine at Dorpat (1869–71), Bern (1871), Königsberg (1872–1888) and Strassburg (1888–1905). He was the author of two medical classics, the first on cholelithiasis (1892), which was translated into English by A. E. Garrod for the New Sydenham Society's publications (1896), and the’ second on diabetes mellitus (1898). He also wrote important articles on cerebral compression, the problem of fever, coagulation of the blood, gastric fermentation, cirrhosis of the liver, disorders of speech and syphilitic disease of the nervous system. Considerable historical interest is attached to his papers on “The Development of Internal Medicine in the Nineteenth Century”, “The Berlin School 50 Years Ago” (1908), and his autobiography entitled “Erinnerungen, Gedanken und Meinungen”. In 1872 he founded, in conjunction with Schmiedeberg, the Archiv für experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie, and in 1896, with the surgeon Mickulicz, the Mittheilungen aus den Grenzgebieten der Medizin und Chirurgie. Naunyn had many pupils who attained distinction, such as Eichhorst, Minkowski, Schreiber, Stadelmann, Umber and Weintraud. He remained active in his retirement at Baden-Baden until shortly before his death, which took place on July 26, 1925.