Henry Koplik
Henry Koplik (1858-1927) was an American pediatrician.
Koplik was a pioneering American pediatrician whose name endures in clinical medicine through “Koplik spots“—the pathognomonic buccal enanthem of measles. A meticulous observer and rigorous advocate of preventive medicine, Koplik significantly influenced the early development of pediatrics as a specialised field in the United States.
Born and trained in New York City, Koplik combined local excellence with European refinement, undertaking postgraduate studies with figures such as Robert Koch and Alois Epstein. He returned to a thriving yet underserved immigrant community on the Lower East Side, where his clinical acumen, organizational vision, and compassion found fertile ground. As Attending Physician at the Good Samaritan Dispensary, he established one of America’s first milk depots (goutte de lait) in 1889—an initiative that helped reduce infant mortality and became a model of urban child health innovation.
In 1896, amidst recurring measles epidemics, Koplik published his observations on minute bluish-white specks appearing on the buccal mucosa several days before the characteristic measles rash. Despite initial skepticism, his findings were rapidly validated internationally, and “Koplik’s spots” became an essential early diagnostic tool, permitting timely isolation and reducing transmission.
Koplik’s career spanned hospital practice, medical education, research, and authorship. He served for 25 years as Attending Pediatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital and published widely, most notably the textbook Diseases of Infancy and Childhood (1902). He was a founding member and former President of the American Pediatric Society, contributing enduring frameworks to pediatric practice and public health.
Remembered as dignified and exacting yet generous in mentorship, Koplik championed hygiene, laboratory diagnostics, and maternal education. His contributions—spanning bacteriology, clinical care, and institutional reform—cemented his place in the pantheon of early American pediatrics.
Biography
- 1858 – Born October 28 in New York City.
- 1878 – Received A.B. degree from the College of the City of New York.
- 1881 – Graduated M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia University); awarded the Harsen Prize for academic excellence.
- 1882 – Completed internship at Bellevue Hospital, New York.
- 1883–1887 – Postgraduate studies in Europe under Max von Pettenkofer, Robert Koch, Emanuel Mendel, Carl Gerhardt, and Alois Epstein in Berlin, Munich, and Prague.
- 1886 – Returned to New York to begin private practice.
- 1887 – Appointed Attending Physician at the Good Samaritan Dispensary on the Lower East Side.
- 1889 – Established the first American milk depot (goutte de lait) at the Good Samaritan Dispensary to provide sterilized milk to infants, a significant public health advancement.
- 1896 – Described Koplik’s spots, an early diagnostic sign of measles, in Archives of Pediatrics.
- 1898–1899 – Reaffirmed the diagnostic significance of his measles findings in articles in Medical Record and Medical News.
- 1899 – Appointed Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Bellevue Medical College.
- 1900 – Became Attending Pediatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York; held this role for 25 years and established a modern children’s pavilion.
- 1902 – Published Diseases of Infancy and Childhood, a widely used pediatric textbook.
- 1914 – Documented the history and success of the milk depot in Journal of the American Medical Association.
- 1923 – Final known publication, marking 36 years of scholarly contributions.
- 1927 – Died April 30 in New York City, aged 68.
Medical Eponyms
Koplik spots (1896)
Minute bluish-white lesions on the buccal mucosa that appear 2–3 days before the measles rash, allowing early diagnosis and isolation. Considered pathognomonic for measles.
1896 – Koplik published his first paper on the subject. He described the spots, their onset, and duration and emphasised the absence of these spots in scarlet fever, rubella, aphthous ulcers, and grippe (influenza).
If we look in the mouth we see…a few spots on the soft palate. On the buccal mucous membrane and the inside of the lips, we invariably see a distinct eruption. It consists of small, irregular spots, of a bright red color. In the centre of each spot, there is noted, in strong daylight, a minute bluish whites peck. These red spots, with accompanying specks of a bluish white color, are absolutely pathognomonic of beginning measles, and when seen can be relied upon as the forerunner of the skin eruption
…the buccal eruption is of the greatest diagnostic value at the outset of the disease before the appearance of the skin eruption
Koplik believed his original sign had not received the notice it should have, and published two further papers, with more arresting titles and more information in 1898 (A new diagnostic sign of measles) and 1899 (The New Diagnostic Spots of Measles on the Buccal and Labial Mucous Membranes)
1898 – Koplik emphasised differences between his sign and other enanthems and increased the differential diagnosis to exclude erythema multiforme, catarrhal angina and drug rashes. He provided brief clinical details of 16 measles patients, 8 of whom were seen early enough to recognise the spots
1899 – Koplik provided a breakdown of the appearance of this sign in 32 patients up to 3 days before the exanthem appeared. Apparently a colour plate was supplied, but not referred to in the text or found in the editions of the paper reviewed.
It will be seen that in the spots which I have described the profession has a pathognomonic sign of measles at an early stage of the disease of the highest diagnostic value. It enables one to isolate the measles patients with certainty at a much earlier period than was formerly possible. Epidemics both in hospitals and institutions can be promptly limited if not aborted. At the same time, one has a means of distinguishing measles from a variety of similar eruptions of the skin resembling the measles exanthema.
Major Publications
- Koplik H. Acute articular rheumatism in the nursing infant. New York Medical Journal. 1888
- Koplik H. Arthritis complicating vulvo-vaginal inflammation in children. New York Medical Journal. 1890
- Koplik H. The etiology of empyema in children. American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 1891
- Koplik H. The sterilization of milk and the status of our knowledge upon the subject. Read before the American Medical Association, Washington, May 5, 1891
- Koplik H. Acute alcoholic intoxication in infants. Medical News. 1893
- Koplik H. Malarial fever in infants and children. New York Medical Journal. 1893
- Koplik H. Acute lacunar diphtheria of the tonsils. New York Medical Journal. 1894
- Koplik H. The diagnosis of the invasion of measles from a study of the exanthema as it appears on the buccal mucous membrane. Archives of Pediatrics, New York, 1896; 13: 918-922. [Classic Re-Print 1997] [Koplik spots]
- Koplik H. The rapid bacteriological and clinical diagnosis of diphtheria. New York Medical Journal. 1896
- Koplik H. A new diagnostic sign of measles. Medical Record. 1898; 53: 505-507 [Koplik spots]
- Koplik H. The New Diagnostic Spots of Measles on the Buccal and Labial Mucous Membranes. Medical News. 1899; 74(22): 673-676 [Koplik spots]
- Koplik H. Diseases of Infancy and Childhood. New York: Lea Brothers & Co; 1902.
- Koplik H. The History of the First Milk Depot or Gouttes de Lait with Consultations in America. JAMA. 1914;LXIII(18):1574–1575.
- Koplik H. The diseases of infancy and childhood: designed for the use of students and practitioners of medicine. 4e. Lea & Febiger. 1919
References
Biography
- Henry Koplik, M.D. 1858-1927. Am J Dis Child. 1927;33(6):979.
- Libman E. Obituary, Dr. Henry Koplik. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1927 Nov;3(11):667–71.
- Bass MH. Pediatric profiles; Henry Koplik (1857–1928). J. Ped 1955;46:119–125.
- Bass MH. Henry Koplik (1858-1927). 1957. Semin Pediatr Infect Dis. 2005 Jan;16(1):66-9.
Eponymous terms
- Sobel J. Koplik’s spots as an aid in the diagnosis of skin lesions. New York medical journal 1898; 68: 556-558
- Libman E. The value of the buccal eruption of measles (Koplik) for early diagnosis. Medical Record 1898; 53: 838-839
- Markel H. Henry Koplik, MD, the Good Samaritan Dispensary of New York City, and the description of Koplik’s spots. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996 May;150(5):535-9
- Baxby D. The diagnosis of the invasion of measles from a study of the exanthema as it appears on the buccal mucous membrane. Rev. Med. Virol. 1997;7:71–74
- Markel H. Koplik’s Spots: The Harbinger of a Measles Epidemic. Milbank Q. 2015 Jun;93(2):223-9.
Eponym
the person behind the name
