Felix von Niemeyer (31 December 1820 – 14 March 1871) was a German internist born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. He was the grandson of

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

August Hermann Niemeyer August Hermann Niemeyer (1 September 1754 in Halle (Saale) – 7 July 1828 in Magdeburg) was a German Protestant theologian, teacher, a librettist, a poet, a travel writer, a Protestant church song poet and a Prussian political educator. He was ...

(1754–1828).

Biography

He studied medicine at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

and in 1844 started work as a physician in Magdeburg. Later, he was a professor of internal medicine at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

(from 1855), and at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

(from 1860). During the Franco-Prussian War, he served as a medical consultant. Niemeyer is largely remembered for his written works, in particular, the ''Lehrbuch der speziellen Pathologie'', a textbook that was published in eleven editions up until 1884, and was translated into seven languages. He is also known for espousing a high-protein,

low-carbohydrate diet Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein (e.g., meat, p ...

Miller, Ian. (2014). ''Reforming Food in Post-Famine Ireland: Medicine, Science and Improvement, 1845-1922''. Manchester University Press. p. 80. that was in essence a modification of the popular "Banting diet", a regimen endorsed by

William Banting William Banting (''c.'' December 1796 – 16 March 1878) was a notable English undertaker. Formerly obesity, obese, he is also known for being the first to popularise a weight loss diet based on limiting the intake of carbohydrates, especial ...

(1796–1878), an English

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as w ...

. In 1848 he was co-founder of the ''Medizinische Gesellschaft zu Magdeburg'' (Medical Society of Magdeburg).Uni Magdeburg
(biography) In 1865 he became a consulting physician to King Charles I of Württemberg, and in 1870, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

Partial list of works

* ''Die asiatische Cholera, ein primär-örtliches Leiden der Darmschleimhaut'', in: Die medicinische Reform. Eine Wochenschrift 1, Nr. 19, 1848, 134–138 (

Asiatic cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

, a primary local disease of the

intestinal mucosa The gastrointestinal wall of the gastrointestinal tract is made up of four layers of specialised tissue. From the inner cavity of the gut (the lumen) outwards, these are: # Mucosa # Submucosa # Muscular layer # Serosa or adventitia The mucosa is ...

). * ''Die symptomatische Behandlung der Cholera mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die Bedeutung des Darmleidens'', 1849 (Symptomatic treatment of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

with special attention given to intestinal disease). * ''Klinische Mittheilungen aus dem Städtischen Krankenhause zu Magdeburg'', 1855 (Clinical communications from the municipal hospital of Magdeburg). * ''Lehrbuch der speciellen Pathologie und Therapie mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Physiologie und pathologische Anatomie'', 1858 (Textbook of special pathology and therapy with special reference given to

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

).
''The Treatment of Corpulence, by the So-Called Banting System''
(1865)

References

* ''This article incorporates text based on a translation of an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia''.

External links

*

Essay about William Banting's Diet 1820 births 1871 deaths German internists Low-carbohydrate diet advocates Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Physicians from Magdeburg Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Tübingen {{Germany-med-bio-stub