A Brief Biography of Alois Alzheimer

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

J.M. Pérez-Trullén
Department of Neurology Hospital Royo Villanova. Zaragoza, Spain.

ABSTRACT

Although we are often aware of a few events in the private lives of specific doctors, we tend to express far more interest in their professional lives. Nevertheless, we should recognise that doctors' biographies often reveal the clues that led them to their discoveries and findings. While this is not always the case, we should also recognise the interest of looking beyond scientific research to gain a better understanding of a scientist as a person. Alzheimer is one of the most commonly-used eponyms in the field of neurology, but we rarely stop to ask ourselves who this doctor was, how he described the illness that still bears his name, and under what circumstances these events took place. The purpose of this article is to find answers to these questions.

KEYWORDS

Alois Alzheimer, biography, history, professional career, teaching.

Neurosciences and History 2013;1(3):125-136