Jakob Erdheim

Who was Jakob Erdheim?

Jakob Erdheim was an Austrian pathologist. He is credited with the characterization of Erdheim–Chester disease and cystic medial necrosis.

In 1901 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Vienna, later working as an assistant at the institute of pathological anatomy in Vienna. In 1913 he became habilitated for pathological anatomy, and in 1916 was named director of the pathological-anatomical institute at Vienna city hospital. From 1924 onward, he was associated with the "Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien-Lainz".

He distinguished himself in research of hyperparathyroidism, acromegaly, Paget’s disease and pituitary gland abnormalities. His name is associated with "Erdheim's syndrome", a condition that is also known as "Scaglietti-Dagnini syndrome". Other eponyms associated with him are:

Erdheim disease: a synonym for cystic medial necrosis.

Erdheim tumor: a synonym for craniopharyngioma.

He used the term "nanosomia pituitaria" to describe pituitary dwarfism.