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Wilhelm Heinrich Erb

Wilhelm Heinrich Erb (November 30, 1840 - 1921) was a German neurologist and educator who was born in Winnweiler, Bavaria. In 1864 he received his medical degree from the University of Heidelberg, and for several years was an assistant to pathologist Nikolaus Friedreich. Erb also worked for a period of time under Ludwig von Buhl (1816-1880) in Munich. In 1880 Erb was appointed to a chair in special pathology at the University of Leipzig and later became head of the clinic. Afterwards, he returned to Heidelberg for a similar position, succeeding his former teacher Nikolaus Friedreich. He worked in Heidelberg for the remainder of his career.

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Erb began his medical career in the fields of toxicology and histology, but later his interest switched to neurology, where he was to become one of the 19th century's leading neurologists. He extensively used electrodiagnostic testing and demonstrated motor nerve irritability in tetanus. Erb is also credited with popularizing the reflex hammer for use in medical examinations.

He made early observations relating to syphilis and tabes dorsalis (nerve fiber and nerve cell degeneration). In his research of tabes dorsalis he tried to find the link between this condition and syphilis. He also contributed research material concerning poliomyelitis, claudication intermittens, and progressive muscular atrophy.

He wrote more than 250 medical essays including Handbuch über die Elektrotherapie and an important study on spinal paralysis. In 1878, Erb described myasthenia gravis, which is sometimes referred to as the Erb-Goldflam disease (named along with neurologist Samuel Goldflam). Myasthenia gravis is a neuromuscular disorder that leads to fatigue and muscle weakness. Neurologists Ernst Julius Remak (1849-1911) and Max Nonne (1861-1959) were two of his students.

Several eponyms are named after him including:

Erb-Duchenne palsy, also known as Erb's palsy or brachial plexus palsy: a muscular paralysis during childbirth; named with French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne
Erb-Charcot paralysis: a rare form of spinal syphilis; named with French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot
Erb's point: an anatomical location 2-3 cm above the clavicle. Electrical stimulation over this region causes contraction of various arm muscles.
Erb-Westphal symptom: a reflex anomaly seen in tabes dorsalis, named with German neurologist Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal