Walther Spielmeyer
Walther Spielmeyer (April 23, 1879 - February 6, 1935) was a German neuropathologist who was a native of Dessau.
He studied medicine at the University of Halle under Eduard Hitzig (1838-1907), and in 1906 went to Freiburg, where he was an assistant to Alfred Hoche (1865-1943). At the suggestion of Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926), he succeeded Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915) as director of the Anatomisches Laboratorium der Psychiatrischen und Nervenklivik in Munich. At Munich he worked with Franz Nissl (1860-1919) and Felix Plaut (1877-1940).
Spielmeyer is remembered for his research of peripheral nervous system injuries, and his specialized study of disturbed brain function caused by temporary circulation problems. Among his written works was the 1922 Histopathologie des Neurvensystems, an influential book concerning the histopathology of the nervous system. This book is known for its excellent illustrations. He coined the term "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease" to refer to a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease first described separately by the eponymous German neurologists.
- Associated eponym:
- Spielmeyer-Vogt disease: A congenital progressive lysosome dysfunction that usually presents itself around the age of five, and is characterized by cerebroretinal degeneration, dementia and early death. Named along with neurologist Heinrich Vogt (1875-1936).
Selected writings
- Die Trypanosomenkrankheiten und ihre Beziehungen zu den syphilogenen Nervenkrankheiten (Trypanosomiasis and its correlation to syphilitic nerve disorders). Jena, Fischer, 1908.
- Technik der mikroskopischen Untersuchung des Nervensystems (Microscopic studies of the nervous system). Berlin, Springer, 1911; 4. Aufl., 1930.
- Die progressive Paralyse. In: Handbuch der Neurologie, Bd. 3; Berlin, 1912.
- Zur Klinik und Anatomie der Nerven-Schussverletzungen. Berlin, Springer, 1915.
- Histopathologie des Nervensystems (Histopathology of the nervous system). Erster Band: Allgemeiner Teil. Berlin, J. Springer, 1922.
- Degeneration und Regeneration am peripherischen Nerven. (Degeneration and regeneration of the peripheral nervous system). Handbuch der normalen und pathologischen Physiologie, Bd. 3; Berlin, 1929.
- Die Anatomie der Psychosen. (Anatomy of psychosis). Handbuch der Geisteskrankheiten, Bd. 11; Berlin, 1930.
References
- This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.
- Founders of Neurology; University of Illinois at Chicago
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