Wilhelm Camerer

Who was Wilhelm Camerer?

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Camerer was a German physician born in Stuttgart. Camerer was a pioneer in the field of pediatric medicine.

He studied medicine at the Universities of Tübingen and Vienna. At Tübingen he was a student of physiologist Karl von Vierordt. From 1867 until 1876 he practiced medicine in several communities throughout Württemberg, and from 1876 to 1884 was a physician at Riedlingen. He was also a military physician during the Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War.

From 1884 he was a physician based in Urach, where he was later appointed Oberamtsarzt. In 1895 he received an honorary degree in natural sciences from the University of Tübingen.

Camerer is remembered for his studies involving infant nutrition, psychophysics and the metabolism of children. In 1894 he published an influential work on childhood metabolism called Der Stoffwechsel des Kindes, etc. His work in pediatrics included important research concerning the composition of breast milk.

⁕Associated eponym:

⁕Camerer's law: Law which states that "children of the same weight have the same food requirements regardless of their ages".