Ismar Isidor Boas

Who was Ismar Isidor Boas?

Ismar Isidor Boas was a German gastroenterologist born in the town of Exin.

He studied medicine in Berlin, Halle and Leipzig, and subsequently became an assistant to Carl Anton Ewald at the Augusta Hospital in Berlin. In 1886 he became a licensed specialist of gastro-intestinal diseases in Berlin.

Boas was one of the leading authorities on gastroenterology in Europe. Alone, and with Professor Ewald, he made several contributions regarding the pathology and physiology of digestion. He described Lactobacillus acidophilus, a bacillus found in the gastric juice of individuals with stomach carcinoma. This bacterium is sometimes referred to as the "Boas-Oppler bacillus".

In 1895 he founded the Archiv für Verdauungs-Krankheiten, the first medical journal dedicated to gastroenterological topics, and in 1913 established the German gastroenterological society. He also has a handful of eponyms named in his honor, including:

"Boas' algesimeter": an instrument used for determining the sensitiveness over the epigastrium.

"Boas' point": a tender spot to the left of the twelfth thoracic vertebra in individuals with gastric ulcer.