Friedrich Hoffmann



Friedrich Hoffmann (February 19, 1660 – November 12, 1742) was a German physician. He studied and wrote on such topics as pediatrics, mineral waters, and meteorology; introduced many drugs into practice (e.g. Hoffmann's anodyne, or compound spirit of ether, and Hoffmann's Drops, or spirit of ether); and was among the first to describe several diseases, including appendicitis and German measles, and to recognize the regulatory role of the nervous system. He taught and practiced at Halle from 1693. His approach to physiology was mechanistic, viewing disease as a disruption of the body's tonus (thus the term tonic for his remedies).

He wrote a witchcraft book, Dissertation de Potentia Diaboli, for his student Gottfried Büching.

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