Józef Polikarp Brudziński (26 January 1874 – 18 December 1917) was a Polish

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

born in the village of Bolewo (now in

Mława County __NOTOC__ Mława County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. ...

Biography

He studied medicine in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, and in 1897 moved to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where he trained in

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

. Later, he worked in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

under

Theodor Escherich Theodor Escherich (; 29 November 1857 – 15 February 1911) was a German- Austrian pediatrician and a professor at universities in Graz and Vienna. He discovered and described the bacterium ''Escherichia coli''. Life and achievements Fami ...

(1867–1911), and in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with Doctors Jacques-Joseph Grancher (1843–1907), Antoine Marfan (1858–1942) and Victor Henri Hutinel (1849–1933). In 1903 he practiced medicine at the Anne-Marie Kinderhospital in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, relocating in 1910 to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, where he designed a children's hospital with financial assistance from philanthropist Sophie Szlenker. He was a catalyst in the re-establishment of a Polish university in Warsaw, where in 1915, he became rector. In 1908 he founded the first Polish journal of pediatrics, titled ''Przegląd Pediatryczny''. Brudziński is remembered for his work involving

prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s in children, as well as studies of

neurological Neurology (from , "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 nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

indications associated with

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. Today, his name is lent to four eponymous medical signs associated with reflexes observed in meningitis. * Brudziński's neck sign: With the patient lying on his back and the neck is bent forward, reflective flexion of the knees take place. * Brudziński's symphyseal sign: Pressure over

symphysis pubis The pubic symphysis (: symphyses) is a secondary cartilaginous joint between the left and right superior rami of the pubis of the hip bones. It is in front of and below the urinary bladder. In males, the suspensory ligament of the penis attaches ...

leads to knee, hip flexion and leg abduction. * Brudziński's cheek phenomenon: Pressure beneath the

zygomatic bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from ), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone, situated at the upper and lateral part of the face and forming part of the lateral wall and floor of the orbit, of the temporal fos ...

leads to flexion of the

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in anatomy, techn ...

. * Brudziński's reflex: Passive flexion of one knee into the abdomen leads to involuntary flexion in the opposite leg, and stretching of a limb that was flexed leads to contralateral extension. He died on December 18, 1917, at only 43 years of age due to

nephrotic syndrome Nephrotic syndrome is a collection of symptoms due to kidney damage. This includes proteinuria, protein in the urine, hypoalbuminemia, low blood albumin levels, hyperlipidemia, high blood lipids, and significant edema, swelling. Other symptoms ...

References

AIPPG
Meningeal Signs: Kernig’s Sign and Brudzinski’s Sign

@

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:Brudzinski, Jozef 1874 births 1917 deaths People from Mława County People from Płock Governorate Clan of Prawdzic Members of the Provisional Council of State Polish pediatricians Polish neurologists Rectors of universities in Poland Rectors of University of Warsaw