Heinrich Curschmann (28 June 1846 – 6 May 1910) was a German internist who was a native of

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

. From 1863 to 1868 he studied medicine at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

, and afterwards worked as an assistant physician at the Rochusspital in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. In 1875, he received his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

for internal medicine at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, and from 1879 to 1888 served as director at the state hospital in

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

. From 1888 to 1910 he was a professor of internal medicine at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, serving as academic rector in 1906/07.Prof. Dr. med. Heinrich Jakob Wilhelm Curschmann
Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig Curschmann is remembered for the 1894 publication of "''Klinische Abbildungen''" (Clinical Illustrations), a collection of photos involving changes to the outer human form caused by internal disease. "''Klinische Abbildungen''" is considered to be a major pioneer work in

medical photography Medical photography is a specialized area of photography that concerns itself with the documentation of the clinical presentation of patients, medical and surgical procedures, medical devices and specimens from autopsy. The practice requires a high ...

. His treatise "''Der Unterleibstyphus and Das Fleckenfieber''", was later translated into English and published as "Typhoid fever and typhus fever" (1901). Curschmann's name is lent to a number of eponymous medical terms, including "Curschmann's disease", also known as

hyaloserositis In pathology, hyaloserositis is the coating of an organ with a fibrosis, fibrous hyaline,Hyaloserositis. Online Medical Dictionary. URLhttp://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?hyaloserositis Accessed on: June 21, 2008. resulting from inflammation of ...

of the

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

; "Curschmann's

cannula A cannula (; Latin meaning 'little reed'; plural or ) is a tube that can be inserted into the body, often for the delivery or removal of fluid or for the gathering of samples. In simple terms, a cannula can surround the inner or outer surfaces ...

", a medical instrument; and " Curschmann's spirals", described as coiled mucinous

fibril Fibrils (from the Latin ''fibra'') are structural biological materials found in nearly all living organisms. Not to be confused with fibers or filaments, fibrils tend to have diameters ranging from 10-100 nanometers (whereas fibers are micro ...

s sometimes found in the

sputum Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections and cytological investigations ...

bronchial asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coug ...

.History of Allergy
edited by K.-C. Bergmann, J. Ring

References

German internists 1846 births 1910 deaths University of Giessen alumni Academic staff of Leipzig University Rectors of Leipzig University People from Giessen {{Germany-med-bio-stub