Johann Christian Reil

Johann Christian Reil (20 February, 1759 - 22 November, 1813) was a German physician, anatomist, physiologist and psychiatrist. He was the first to use the word "Psychiatrie" (Psychiatry) in 1808.

Medical conditions and anatomical features named after him include Reil's finger, the Islands of Reil in the cerebral cortex, and Beau-Reil cross furrows on the fingernails.

From 1788 to 1810 he was working in a psychiatric hospital in Halle Germany. In 1810 he became one of the first university teachers for psychiatry (Professor) in Berlin. In 1795 Reil founded Archiv für die Physiologie, the first German journal of psychology. From 1802-1805 the poet Goethe visited him to discuss scientific matters such as psychiatry with him, and also consulted him as a physician.

Reil died in 1813 after contracting typhus treating soldiers wounded in the Battle of Leipzig, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Literature

 * Marneros, Andreas (2005): Das Wort Psychiatrie wurde in Halle geboren. ISBN 3-7945-2413-6