Carl Moeli
Encyclopedia
Carl Franz Moeli was a German neurologist
and psychiatrist
born in Kassel
.
He studied medicine in Marburg
, Würzburg
and Leipzig
followed by work as an assistant at clinics in Rostock
and Munich
. In 1880 he became an assistant to Carl Westphal
(1833–1890) in the psychiatric clinic at the Berlin
-Charité
. At the Charité he performed anatomical studies of the optic nerve
, research involving the pupillary reaction
of mental patients, the effects of syphilis
on the brain and clinical studies of alcoholism
. In 1883 he received his habilitation for psychiatry, and during the following year worked as an assistant medical director at the Städtische Irrenanstalt Dalldorf in Berlin.
In 1893 he became the first director of the newly built Irrenanstalt Herzberge, a position he maintained until 1914. Also he played an important role as adviser to the German government concerning mental health issues. One of Moeli's better known assistants at Herzberge was neurologist Karl Birnbaum
(1878–1950).
Moeli is best remembered for his work in forensic psychiatry
. He performed extensive research involving the forensic relationship of alcoholism and alcoholic psychosis
, and had particular interest in so-called "degenerative personalities" and associated psychosis.
Neurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
born in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
.
He studied medicine in Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
, Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
and Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
followed by work as an assistant at clinics in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In 1880 he became an assistant to Carl Westphal
Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal
Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal was a German neurologist and psychiatrist from Berlin. He was the son of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal and Karoline Friederike Heine and the father of Alexander Carl Otto Westphal...
(1833–1890) in the psychiatric clinic at the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Charité
Charité
The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....
. At the Charité he performed anatomical studies of the optic nerve
Optic nerve
The optic nerve, also called cranial nerve 2, transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. Derived from the embryonic retinal ganglion cell, a diverticulum located in the diencephalon, the optic nerve doesn't regenerate after transection.-Anatomy:The optic nerve is the second of...
, research involving the pupillary reaction
Adaptation (eye)
In ocular physiology, adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust to various levels of darkness and light.-Efficacy:The human eye can function from very dark to very bright levels of light; its sensing capabilities reach across nine orders of magnitude. This means that the brightest and the...
of mental patients, the effects of syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
on the brain and clinical studies of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. In 1883 he received his habilitation for psychiatry, and during the following year worked as an assistant medical director at the Städtische Irrenanstalt Dalldorf in Berlin.
In 1893 he became the first director of the newly built Irrenanstalt Herzberge, a position he maintained until 1914. Also he played an important role as adviser to the German government concerning mental health issues. One of Moeli's better known assistants at Herzberge was neurologist Karl Birnbaum
Karl Birnbaum
Karl Birnbaum was a German-American psychiatrist and neurologist....
(1878–1950).
Moeli is best remembered for his work in forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry is a sub-speciality of psychiatry and an auxiliar science of criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry...
. He performed extensive research involving the forensic relationship of alcoholism and alcoholic psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
, and had particular interest in so-called "degenerative personalities" and associated psychosis.
Written works
- Alcoholismus, psychische Störung; atrophische Lähmung der Extensoren am Oberschenkel. (Alcoholism, mental disorder, atrophic paralysis of the extensors of the thighThighIn humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
); Charité-Ann. 1881 - Eine Bemerkung zur Säufer-Epilepsie. (A note on "drunken-epilepsyEpilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
"); Neurol. Centralbl. (1885) - Ueber irre Verbrecher. I. Krankengeschichten. II. Ueber den Zusammenhang von Geistesstörung und Verbrechen. III. Ueber Feststellung des Geisteszustandes. IV. Die Simulation von Geisteskrankheit. V. Die Behandlung und Unterbringung irrer Verbrecher). Berlin, 1888
- Zur Erinnerung an Carl Westphal. Rede. (In memory of Carl Westphal. Speech). Berlin, 1890
- Behandlung der Vergiftungen mit Weingeist. (Treatment of Alcohol Poisoning) with handbook d. spec. Therap. inner. Krankh. vol. 2. Jena, 1894
- Ueber psychische Schwäche in ihren verschiedenen Formen. (About mental weakness in its various forms); Preuss. Med.-Beamten-Ver. Off. Ber. 11, ss. 136-148 (1894)
- Weitere Mittheilungen über die Pupillen-Reaction. (Further communications about pupillary reaction); Berl. klin. Wchnschr. 34, ss. 373; 401 (1897)
- Demonstration des automatischen Excenter; Rotationsmikrotoms; Herzberge (Kaplan, Krefft, G. Meyer). Allg. Ztschr. f. Psychiat. (1900)
- Ueber die vorübergehenden Zustände abnormen Bewustseins in Folge von Alkoholvergiftung und über deren forensische Bedeutung. Allg. Ztschr. f. Psychiat. (1900)
- Die Fürsorge für Geisteskranke und geistig Abnorme, nach den gesetzlichen Vorschriften, Ministerial-Erlassungen, behördlichen Verordnungen und der Rechtsprechung, ein Handbuch für Ärzte und Verwaltungsbeamte. (The care for the mentally ill and mentally abnormal, according to legal regulations, ministerial decrees, administrative regulations and case law, a manual for physicians and administrators); Halle a. S. 1915.