Hans Chiari was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n pathologist

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

 who was a native of Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. He was the son of gynecologist Johann Baptist Chiari

Johann Baptist Chiari

Johann Baptist Chiari was an Austrian gynecologist and obstetrician who was a native of Salzburg. In 1841 he received his medical doctorate at Vienna, where later he practiced obstetrics and gynecology for most of his professional career. He died in 1854 at the age of 37 from cholera...

 (1817-1854), and brother to rhinolaryngologist

Laryngology

Laryngology is that branch of medicine which deals with disorders, diseases and injuries of the vocal apparatus, especially the larynx. Common conditions addressed by laryngologists include vocal fold nodules and cysts, laryngeal cancer, spasmodic dysphonia, laryngopharyngeal reflux, papillomas,...

 Ottokar Chiari

Ottokar Chiari

Ottokar Chiari was an Austrian laryngologist and professor at the University of Vienna who was a native of Prague....

 (1853-1918).

Chiari studied medicine in Vienna, where he was an assistant to Karl Freiherr von Rokitansky (1804-1878) and Richard Ladislaus Heschl

Richard L. Heschl

Richard Ladislaus Heschl was an Austrian anatomist. In 1849 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Vienna and in 1850 became an assistant to Carl von Rokitansky . Later, he became a professor at Olmütz , Krakow , Graz and Vienna...

 (1824-1881). In 1878 he received his habilitation in pathological anatomy, and within a few years became an associate professor at the University of Prague

Charles University in Prague

Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...

. At Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 he was also superintendent of the pathological-anatomical museum. In 1906 he relocated to the University of Strasbourg

University of Strasbourg

The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....

 as a professor of pathological anatomy.

Chiari's research dealt largely with postmortem examinations, and most of his numerous writings are the result of autopsies

Autopsy

An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...

. In 1891 he described a brain malformation that is characterized by abnormalities in the region where the brain and spinal cord meet, and it causes part of the cerebellum

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established...

 to protrude through the foramen magnum (bottom of the skull) into the spinal canal

Spinal canal

The spinal canal is the space in vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes. It is a process of the dorsal human body cavity. This canal is enclosed within the vertebral foramen of the vertebrae...

. This was to be called the Arnold-Chiari malformation

Arnold-Chiari malformation

Arnold–Chiari malformation, or often simply Chiari malformation, is a malformation of the brain. It consists of a downward displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum , sometimes causing non-communicating hydrocephalus as a result of obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid outflow...

, named after Chiari and German pathologist, Julius Arnold

Julius Arnold

Julius Arnold was a German pathologist who was born in Zurich. He was the son of anatomist Friedrich Arnold ....

 (1835 − 1915). The malformation was given its name in 1907 by two of Dr. Arnold's students.

Another medical term named after Chiari is the Budd-Chiari syndrome

Budd-Chiari syndrome

In medicine , Budd–Chiari syndrome is the clinical picture caused by occlusion of the hepatic veins. It presents with the classical triad of abdominal pain, ascites and hepatomegaly. Examples of occlusion include thrombosis of hepatic veins. The syndrome can be fulminant, acute, chronic, or...

, which is ascites

Ascites

Ascites is a gastroenterological term for an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity.The medical condition is also known as peritoneal cavity fluid, peritoneal fluid excess, hydroperitoneum or more archaically as abdominal dropsy. Although most commonly due to cirrhosis and severe liver...

 and cirrhosis

Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...

 of the liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

 caused by an obstruction of the hepatic veins due to a blood clot. It is named in conjunction with British internist George Budd (1808 − 1882). Lastly, Chiari is also famous for describing the Chiari network an embryonic remnant found in the right atrium first published in 1897.

External links

• The Chiari Institute
• Hans Chiari @ Who Named It
  Who Named It
  Who Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...