Ernst Kromayer (26 September 1862 in Stralsund – 6 May 1933 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was a German

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

. He was the younger brother of historian Johannes Kromayer (1859–1934). He studied medicine at the universities of Strasbourg,

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

, and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1885. From 1888 he worked as an assistant to Karl Koester at the pathology clinic in Bonn, and in 1890 qualified as a lecturer 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 in ...

. At Halle he established a clinic for skin and venereal diseases that eventually acquired the status of a university clinic. In 1901 he received the title of professor at the university, then in 1904 relocated to

, where he opened a private practice.Ernst Kromayer
Catalogus Professorum HalensisErnst Kromayer (1862–1933)
Bürgerstiftung Halle (Saale) He is best remembered for inventing a water-cooled

mercury-vapor lamp A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas-discharge lamp that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to produce light. The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused quartz arc tube mounted within a larger soda lime or borosilicate gl ...

(Kromayer lamp) for

ultraviolet irradiation Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

of the skin. On 23 October 1906 he received a patent for the lamp. He also made pioneer contributions in regards to

dermabrasion Dermabrasion is a type of surgical skin planing, generally with the goal of removing acne, scarring and other skin or tissue irregularities, typically performed in a professional medical setting by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon trained speci ...

; around 1905 he introduced a device that consisted of rotating burrs attached to a

dental drill A dental drill or handpiece is a hand-held, mechanical instrument used to perform a variety of common dental procedures, including removing decay, polishing fillings, performing cosmetic dentistry, and altering prostheses. The handpiece itse ...

, being designed for the removal of unwanted skin layers. In 1962 Grünstraße ("Green Street") in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

was renamed Ernst-Kromayer-Straße in his honor.

Published works

His book ''Die Behandlung der kosmetischen Hautleiden'' (1923), was later translated into English and published as ''The cosmetic treatment of skin complaints, with especial reference to physical therapy and scarless methods of operation'' (1930). Other works by Kromayer are: * ''Allgemeine Dermatologie; oder, Allgemeine Pathologie, Diagnose und Therapie der Hautkrankheiten, in zweiundzwanzig Vorlesungen'', 1896 – General dermatology; or, general pathology, diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases, in twenty-two lectures. * ''Zur Austilgung der Syphilis; abolitionistische Betrachtungen über Prostitution, Geschlechtskrankheiten und Volksgesundheit nebst Vorschlägen zu einem Syphilisgesetz'', 1898 – Towards the eradication of syphilis; abolitionist reflections on prostitution, venereal diseases and public health, including proposals for a syphilis law. * ''Repetitorium der haut- und geschlechtskrankheiten für studierende und aerzte'', 1902 – Refresher course on skin and venereal diseases for students and doctors. * ''Röntgen-radium-licht in der dermatologie'', 1913 – Röntgen-radium-light in dermatology.Most widely held works by Ernst Kromayer
WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kromayer, Ernst 1862 births 1923 deaths People from Stralsund University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Halle German dermatologists