Wilhelminian myelinated fibers-Theodor Kaes, myeloarchitectonics and the asylum Hamburg-Friedrichsberg 1890-1910.
Since the 1890s Theodor Kaes (1852-1913), then alienist at the Hamburg asylum Friedrichsberg, began to explore myeloarchitectonics. He was particularly interested in dementia paralytica and the fibers of the association system. Following Paul Flechsig (1847-1929) and Theodor Meynert (1833-1892), Kaes read class and ethnical hierarchies into myelinated fibers and so could "decipher" the hierarchical structure of Wilhelminian society in the brain. Since 1908 he was in a fierce dispute with Korbinian Brodmann (1868-1918) about the correctness of his measurements. The article depicts the life and work of Kaes against the backdrop of the development of German neurosciences around 1900.
Sammet
Kai
K
Department of History and Ethics of Medicine, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf. sammet@uke.uni-hamburg.de
D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D009445:Neuroanatomy / Q000266:history*; D009494:Neurosyphilis / Q000266:history*