Document Detail


Erb and Westphal: simultaneous discovery of the deep tendon reflexes.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  12539059     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Although the deep tendon reflexes (DTRs) were first introduced simultaneously into the medical literature by Erb and Westphal (1875), there is some evidence that the knee jerk response was well known to laymen prior to that time. Erb wrote that while he was not calling attention to anything new, he realized the utility of the phenomenon in diagnosing certain disease states. Erb viewed the phenomenon more clearly as a true reflex arc, whereas Westphal interpreted it as a local muscle phenomenon. By 1885, the maneuver was used in Europe and across the Atlantic in America. By then, the DTRs had become one of the cardinal features of the neurological examination.
Authors:
Elan D Louis
Related Documents :
6897209 - Meniscal function and the importance of meniscal regeneration in preventing late medica...
12688689 - Anaerobic microbial and photochemical degradation of 4,4'-dibromodiphenyl ether.
14674509 - Determination of the moisture content of bromobutyl rubber stoppers as a function of pr...
15617719 - Limitations of the pelvic examination for evaluation of the female pelvic organs.
3620369 - Relation of alveolar size to forced vital capacity in professional divers.
14557099 - An evaluation of local item dependencies in the medical council of canada qualifying ex...
15104479 - Coumarins from opopanax chironium. new dihydrofuranocoumarins and differential inductio...
2138429 - The economic impact of injuries: a major source of medical costs.
853779 - Relationships between mental health treatment and medical utilization among low-income ...
Publication Detail:
Type:  Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Seminars in neurology     Volume:  22     ISSN:  0271-8235     ISO Abbreviation:  Semin Neurol     Publication Date:  2002 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2003-01-22     Completed Date:  2003-02-06     Revised Date:  2004-11-17    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8111343     Medline TA:  Semin Neurol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  385-90     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
The Neurological Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032-2603, USA.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
Humans
Neurologic Examination / history*,  instrumentation
Neurophysiology / history*
Percussion / history,  instrumentation
Reflex, Stretch / physiology*
Personal Name Subject
Personal Name Subject:
Wilhelm Heinrich Erb; Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  The history of the development of the cerebellar examination.
Next Document:  History of the extensor plantar response: Babinski and Chaddock signs.