Johann Hoffmann (28 March 1857 – 1 November 1919) was a German

neurologist 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 ...

born in

Hahnheim Hahnheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Hahnheim lies between Mainz and Worms ...

. He is remembered for describing

Hoffmann's reflex Hoffmann's reflex (Hoffmann's sign, sometimes simply "''Hoffmann's''", also finger flexor reflex) is a neurological examination finding elicited by a reflex test which can help verify the presence or absence of issues arising from the corticospinal ...

and Werdnig–Hoffmann disease (now spinal muscular atrophy type 1). He was educated at

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

and studied medicine at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He worked under Professor Wilhelm Erb, and succeeded him as head of neurology at Heidelberg. Hoffmann died in

References

1857 births 1919 deaths People from Mainz-Bingen People from Rhenish Hesse German neurologists Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of Heidelberg University Spinal muscular atrophy {{Germany-med-bio-stub