Karl Adolph von Basedow
Karl Adolph von Basedow (1799-1854) was a German general practitioner, surgeon and obstetrician.
Karl (Carl) von Basedow was a German physician whose 1840 description of the triad of goitre, exophthalmos, and palpitations—later called the Merseburger Triad—cemented his place in the history of thyroid disease. Practicing in the small town of Merseburg for over 30 years, Basedow was a generalist with a remarkable eye for clinical patterns. His publication “Exophthalmos due to hypertrophy of the cellular tissue in the orbit” marked the first systematic presentation of what became Morbus Basedow (Graves’ disease in English-speaking countries).
Beyond this, Basedow exemplified the 19th-century physician-scholar: a rural doctor, obstetrician, and pathologist, performing autopsies and publishing widely. He died in 1854 of septicaemia after an autopsy injury—ironically, the fate of many pathologists of the era. His name endures in several contexts: Morbus Basedow, Basedow coma, and the misapplied term Jod-Basedow for iodine-induced thyrotoxicosis.
Socially minded and practical, von Basedow fought to end the ‘unchristian breast-feeding by paid wet-nurses‘; to regularly test testing drinking water and to ban paints containing arsenic. He also presented proof of the poisonous effect of wallpapers printed with the paint colour ‘Schweinfurther Grün‘ (Parisian green) and Scheelesgrün in 1846
Biographical Timeline
- 1799 – Born 28 March in Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau; grandson of pedagogue Johann Bernhard Basedow.
- 1817–1821 Studied medicine at University of Halle, influenced by Peter Krukenberg (1787–1865); completed doctoral thesis on amputation technique Commentationes in novam amputationis cruris panniculatae encheiresin
- 1821–1822 Postgraduate training in Paris, Hôtel-Dieu and Charité hospitals; focused on surgery and clinical observation.
- 1822 – Settled in Merseburg as general physician, surgeon, and obstetrician; began long-standing rural practice.
- 1824–1829 Published early surgical and obstetric papers on tracheotomy, luxation, uterine polyps, and obstetric cases in German journals.
- 1830s – Active in public health and pathology, performing autopsies and reporting cases across diverse specialties. Volunteered to help fight cholera epidemic in Magdeburg
- 1840 – Published landmark paper: “Exophthalmos durch Hypertrophie des Zellgewebes in der Augenhöhle” Described constellation of goitre, exophthalmos, and tachycardia, later termed the Merseburger Triad. Added systemic features: weight loss, sweating, tremor, diarrhea, oedema, amenorrhea.
- 1848 – Reported autopsy findings in fatal “exophthalmic cachexia”, strengthening pathological basis of the syndrome. Kreisphysikus, state physician for the district of Merseburg
- 1854 – Died 11 April in Merseburg, aged 55, of sepsis after cutting his finger during autopsy on a typhus victim; buried 14 April in Sixtus Cemetery.
Medical Eponyms
Basedow disease (1840)
Autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. A form of hyperthyroidism manifesting the triad of goitre, exophthalmos and pretibial myxoedema.
1840 – Basedow described an association of exophthalmos, tachycardia, and goitre in four cases (Madamme F, G, C and Herr M) monitored over periods of 2, 5, 10 and 11 years. Described locally as the ‘Merseburger Triad‘ and in 1858 as Basedow disease [Hirsch 1858;2:224-225]
Basedow outlined the symptoms of hyperthroidism including intolerance to heat, profound sweating, diarrhea and weight loss in the presence of increased appetite. Madame G and Madame F presented with symptoms of florid hyperthyroidism and exophthalmos and during the course of the disease, both were deemed to have become insane with Madame F admitted to a lunatic asylum.
There appeared an eminent protrusion of the eye balls, which by the way were absolutely healthy and had a completely full sight. In spite of this the sick woman was sleeping with open eyes and had a frightening appearance.
Basedow; 1840 (Madame G)
Herr M, was a 50-year-old man who in 1832 began feeling malaise and having diarrhoea. He suffered from ‘a heat of the blood‘, intense sweating, and oppression of the chest. He had a pale puffy countenance with protruding eyes (‘prominent like a crayfish’s eyes‘); the thyroid was enlarged; the patient was emaciated in spite of good appetite and continued to suffer from loose bowels.
Basedow described the connection between these symptoms and tried to explain the pathophysiological mechanisms. He proposed that the exophthalmos was due to an increase of the tissue behind the eye and hypothesised that ‘dyscrasia of the blood‘ (i.e. mediated via the circulation) caused this tissue swelling and also the goitre. He described pretibial myxedema in two patients with thickened lower legs consisting of a ‘plastic brawn‘ not being impressible and not releasing fluid by puncture. Finally he described pregnancy as a most suitable cure! with symptom amelioration during, and exacerbation following pregnancy recorded in all of his three female patients.
In 1848, Basedow proposed the name Die Glotzaugen-cachexie [Goggle-eyed cachexia] for the constellation of symptoms he first described in 1840.
Jod-Basedow Phenomenon
The term “Jod-Basedow” (iodine-induced hyperthyroidism) was coined decades after Basedow’s death by Emil Kocher and others. It refers to thyrotoxicosis triggered by iodine exposure in susceptible individuals with nodular goitre. Misleadingly, the name associates Basedow with a phenomenon unrelated to his clinical entity Morbus Basedow (Graves disease) is an autoimmune disorder, not caused by iodine.
Key Medical Contributions
Schweinfurther Grün and the arsenic wallpaper
Basedow practiced during a time when arsenic compounds were common in medicine and household pigments. ‘Schweinfurther Grün‘ (Parisian green), a copper arsenic pigment, was widely used in wallpapers, paints, and fabrics.
Basedow presented proof of the poisonous effect of wallpapers printed with the paint colour ‘Schweinfurther Grün‘ and Scheelesgrün in 1844, and 1846 in his article ‘Arsenikdunst in Wohnzimmern‘ [Arsenic fumes in living rooms 1846;52(1):89].
In 1848 Basedow found that glue-bound Schweinfurter green released organic arsenic compounds leading to arsenic vapours filling the confined spaces of living rooms. [1848;27:417-429]. This was later deemed to be the production of trimethyl-arsine from fungus (Penicillium brevicaule) [1935;29:1757–1778]
It has been speculated that Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) died of arsenic poisoning originating from the coloured wallpaper whilst on St Helena in 1821. An Italian research group analysed hair samples of Napoleon at varying stages of his life and found that arsenic was present in the environment in quantities that are considered harmful today. However, Napoleon exhibited similarly high levels of toxic metal in all stages of life. His aggressive gastric carcinoma was the more probable cause of his death.
I am dying before my time, murdered by the English oligarchy and their hired assassin. The English people will not delay in avenging me
Memoirs of French Emperor Napoleon Bonapart 1821
Controversies
Karl or Carl?
Both spellings appear in primary and secondary sources. Basedow’s own publications used Carl, consistent with 19th-century German orthography. Modern German references often use Karl, while international literature alternates between the two.
Major Publications
- Basedow KA. Exophthalmos durch Hypertrophie des Zellgewebes in der Augenhöhle. Wochenschrift für die gesammte Heilkunde. 1840; 13: 197-204 [Basedow disease]
- Basedow KA. Exophthalmos durch Hypertrophie des Zellgewebes in der Augenhöhle. Wochenschrift für die gesammte Heilkunde. 1840; 14: 220-228 [Basedow disease]
- Basedow KA. Arsenikdunst in Wohnzimmern. Schmidt’s Jahrbüchern. 1846;52(1):680::89 and Pr. Ver. Zeit. 1846;10 [Schweinfurther Grün]
- Basedow KA. Beobachtungen über die gesundheitsnachteiligen Ausdunstungen der zimmerfaden aus arsenikaurem Kupferoxyd. Wochenschrift für die gesammte Heilkunde. 1848;27:417-429 [Schweinfurther Grün]
- Basedow KA. Die Glotzaugen. Wochenschrift für die gesammte Heilkunde. 1848;49:769-777 [Goggle-eyed cachexia]
References
Biography
- Sudhoff K. Carl A v Basedow (zu seinem 111. Geburtstag). Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift 1910; 57(1): 749–50.
- uchheim L. Carl Adolph von Basedow zu seinem 100. Todestage [To Carl Adolph von Basedow on his 100th anniversary]. Endokrinologie. 1954 Apr;31(3-4):129-33.
- Meng W. Carl Adolph von Basedow–Zu seinem 200. Geburtstag [Carl Adolph von Basedow–on the 200th anniversary of his birth]. Z Arztl Fortbild Qualitatssich. 1999; 93 Suppl 1:5-10
- Duntas LH. A tribute to Carl Adolph von Basedow: to commemorate 150 years since his death. Hormones (Athens). 2004; 3(3): 208-9
- Wenzel KW. Carl Adolph von Basedow (1799-1854). Milestones in European Thyroidology (MET)
- Göring H-D. Carl Adolph von Basedow (1799–1854): Eine Krankheit trägt seinen Namen. Deutsches Ärzteblatt
- Bibliography. Basedow, Karl von. WorldCat Identities
Eponymous terms
- Hirsch G. Cardiogmus Strumosus. In: Klinische Fragmente. 1858;2:224-225 [Hirsch: suggests Basedow disease]
- Challenger F, Higginbottom C. The production of trimethylarsine by Penicillium brevicaule (Scopulariopsis brevicaulis). Biochem J. 1935; 29(7): 1757–1778
- Hennemann G. Historical aspects about the development of our knowledge of morbus Basedow. J Endocrinol Invest. 1991; 14(7): 617-624
- Stanbury JB et al. Iodine-induced hyperthyroidism: occurrence and epidemiology. Thyroid. 1998 Jan;8(1):83-100
- Emsley J. Napoleon: Aresenic in the hair. In: The Elements of Murder – A History of Poison. Oxford University Press. 2006: 126-135
- Fiorini E, Previtali E, Santagostino A. Kein Giftanschlag auf Napoléon. 12 Feb 2008 [No poison attack on Napoléon]
- Seilnacht T. Schweinfurtergrün. SEILNACHT – Naturwissenschaften unterrichten
- Cadogan M. Eponymythology: Diffuse Toxic Goitre. LITFL 2018
Eponym
the person behind the name
