Carl Julius Peter Behr (28 October 1874 – 16 November 1943) was a German ophthalmologist born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In 1909 he described an hereditary syndrome of optic and

neurologic Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "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 brain, the spinal c ...

disorders now known as

Behr's syndrome Behr syndrome is characterized by the association of early-onset optic atrophy with spinocerebellar degeneration resulting in ataxia, pyramidal signs, peripheral neuropathy and developmental delay. Although it is an autosomal recessive disorder, ...

. After attending several universities in Germany, he obtained his medical doctorate from the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

in 1900. Later he was an intern and assistant-physician at Eppendorf and St. Georg's hospitals in Hamburg. In 1910 he was habilitated for ophthalmology at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, where in 1916 he became an associate professor. In 1923 he was appointed to the chair of ophthalmology at

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

. Behr specialized in the study of neuro-ophthalmological disorders, making contributions in his research involving the pathological processes in papilloedema and tabetic

optic atrophy Optic neuropathy is damage to the optic nerve from any cause. The optic nerve is a bundle of millions of fibers in the retina that sends visual signals to the brain. Damage and death of these nerve cells, or neurons, leads to characteristic featu ...

. His name is lent to "Behr's pupil", a slightly dilated

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the Iris (anatomy), iris of the Human eye, eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing ...

in association with an

optic tract In neuroanatomy, the optic tract () is a part of the visual system in the brain. It is a continuation of the optic nerve that relays information from the optic chiasm to the ipsilateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), pretectal nuclei, and su ...

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classif ...

that is usually associated with a contralateral

hemiparesis Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medi ...

. In 1933 Behr signed the ''

Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State Bekenntnis der Professoren an den Universitäten und Hochschulen zu Adolf Hitler und dem nationalsozialistischen Staat officially translated into English as the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Ad ...

''.

Written works

Among his scientific publications was ''Der Augenbefund in seiner diagnostischen und differentialdiagnostischen Bedeutung bei Tabes dorsalis, Lues cerebrospinalis, Multipler Sklerose'' (1936),
Argosy Books a neuro-ophthalmological analysis of eye disorders and their differential diagnostic relevance in

tabes dorsalis Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These patients have lancinating n ...

, lues cerebrospinalis and multiple sclerosis. Other noteworthy written works by Behr include: * ''Die Lehre von den Pupillenbewegungen'' Berlin, (1925) * ''Lider-Tränensekretion, Trigeminus, Pupille, Akkomodation, Heterochromie, Sympathikus'' (with Hermann Wilbrand- 1851-1935). In: Handbuch der Neurologie des Auges, 1st supplementary volume, Munich 1927

References

''Carl Behr''
@

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behr, Carl German ophthalmologists Physicians from Hamburg Academic staff of the University of Kiel 1874 births 1943 deaths Academic staff of the University of Hamburg