Professor Emil Kraepelin of Heidelberg, Germany made outstanding contributions to nosology, psychiatry, neuropathology, and medical literature. Kraepelin named Alzheimer's disease after a brilliant scientist that worked for him. Kraepelin became famous by writing psychiatry textbooks.
Kraepelin spanned the 19th and 20th centuries. He also worked with Nissl, who was another German psychiatrist. Kraepelin defined manic-depressive psychosis, a term that is still in use today. He called schizophrenia "dementia praecox", which was one of the terms in use at that time. He also described "catatonia", which he considered a type of "dementia praecox".
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This is the cover page of "Psychiatrie", a handbook of psychiatry that went through a number of editions. Unfortunately this version was never translated into English, although it created a sensation.
Shown here is the cover of a 1913 book by Kraepelin published in French.
Unfortunately this is one of only two Kraepelin books to have been translated into English. This book influenced me greatly. The book presents a variety of positive neuropathology results.
Shown here is a normal neuron. Kraepelin and his group studied the neuron in dementia praecox as well as in other mental diseases.
Shown here is a case of "dementia praecox". This is not from one of Kraepelin's books, but rather is from a journal about patients. Kraepelin thought that the disease was hereditary. Later Abram Hoffer correctly correlated the disease to stress. Hoffer did not deny any hereditary involvement, but rather felt that environmental factors were also involved. Hoffer's view was more precise than the view of Kraepelin. Hoffer is still alive even though he was born while Kraepelin was still alive. Kraepelin died in 1926.
This is a bust of Kraepelin. Very little on Kraepelin is seen in American websites, but he is extensively treated on German websites, and rightly so.
Kraepelin was a disciple of Griesinger, a German predecessor who also believed in the medical model.
Shown here is an early book by Kraepelin. It was never translated into English, unfortunately.
This is the outside cover of Kraepelin's "Psychiatrie", which is very good condition for a book a century old.
Shown here is a photo of catatonics from one of Kraepelin's psychiatry books. The catatonics are posturing.