Ernst Weber
Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878) was a German anatomist, physiologist, and pioneering experimental psychologist
Weber is perhaps best known to modern clinicians through the Weber test — a simple tuning fork test for lateralization of hearing loss. His original 1825 experiments, published in collaboration with his brother Wilhelm, included early observations on the transmission of sound through bone and air. In his later writings, Weber described that a tuning fork placed on the teeth or skull is heard better in the occluded ear — a phenomenon now routinely used to distinguish conductive from sensorineural hearing loss. Though primarily a physiologist, Weber was among the first to suggest the tuning fork might one day aid diagnosis of ear disease.
Beyond auditory testing, Weber made foundational contributions across physiology. He was a pioneer of psychophysics, formulating the concept of the just-noticeable difference (JND) and what became Weber’s Law, quantifying how stimulus perception relates to physical intensity. His work on the two-point threshold laid the groundwork for tactile mapping of the human body. In collaboration with his brother Eduard, he discovered vagal inhibition of the heart — demonstrating inhibitory nerve action, a seminal finding in autonomic physiology. His hydrodynamic studies of blood flow introduced wave theory into cardiovascular physiology.
Weber’s broad-ranging insights shaped experimental methods and conceptual understanding in sensory physiology, circulation, and neural control. Though modest about his discoveries, he is regarded today as one of the founders of modern experimental psychology.
Biography
- 1795 – Born June 24 in Wittenberg, Germany
- 1811 – Began medical studies at University of Wittenberg
- 1815 – MD awarded at University of Wittenberg (dissertation on comparative anatomy of sympathetic nerves)
- 1817 – Habilitation at University of Leipzig (Anatomia comparata nervi sympathici)
- 1818 – Appointed Associate Professor of Comparative Anatomy, University of Leipzig
- 1821 – Full Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Leipzig
- 1825 – Published Wellenlehre, foundational work on wave theory (with Wilhelm Weber); included early tuning fork sound conduction observations
- 1827 – Published studies on blood circulation, pulse wave, and vascular elasticity
- 1834 – Published De Tactu, introducing the concept of just-noticeable difference (JND)
- 1845 – With Eduard Weber, discovered vagal inhibition of heart rate (presented in Naples)
- 1850 – Published Ueber die Anwendung der Wellenlehre auf die Lehre vom Kreislauf des Blutes
- 1851 – Published Der Tastsinn und das Gemeingefühl (The Sense of Touch and Common Sensibility)
- 1860s – Supported Gustav Fechner’s development of psychophysics
- 1865 – Retired from Chair of Physiology; remained Professor of Anatomy
- 1871 – Fully retired from University of Leipzig
- 1878 – Died January 26 in Leipzig, aged 82
Medical Eponyms
Weber test (1834)
The Weber test is a screening test for hearing which can detect unilateral conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. It is a useful, quick, and simple screening test for evaluating hearing loss.
Tuning fork test for lateralization of hearing loss. In conductive hearing loss, sound lateralizes to the affected ear; in sensorineural hearing loss, to the unaffected ear. Based on Weber’s 1825 and later observations of sound transmission through bone and air with ear occlusion.
1834 – Weber publishes De pulsu, resorptione, auditu et tactu. Here he described: (1) the occlusion effect (bone conduction gain on occlusion of the auditory meatus) and (2) the phenomenon of lateralization of bone conduction into the occluded ear.
Original
English
Si stylum furcae musicae oscillantis, sonum non nimis acutum edentis, ad dentes apprimimus et os, quantum id fieri potest, labiis et lingua occludimus, auresque simul vel manibus aures appressis, vet digito in meatum auditorium immisso claudimus, furcae sono vehementius percellimur, quam auribus apertis. Si altera auris clausa, altera aperta est, sonum in aure clausa fortiorem quam in aure aperta audimus. Idem turn adeo observamus, si dextram aurem claudimus et stylum furcae musicae oscillantis ad cutim tempora sinistra tegentem apprimimus.
Si cantamus aut loquimur, alteram attrem manu claudentes bac aure sonmn vocis semper vehementiorem percipimus
If we apply a vibrating tuning fork against the teeth and close the mouth as strongly as possible and we close the ears either with the hands or with the finger in the auditory meatus, we perceive the sound of the fork Loader than with open ears. one ear is closed and the other open, we hear the sound louder in the occluded ear than in the open ear. We observe the same when we close the right ear and apply the vibrating fork at the skin of the left temporal bone.
If we sing or speak with one ear occluded by the hand, we always perceive the sound of the voice louder with this ear.
Weber did not define any test or provide mention of a diagnostic differential between inner ear and middle ear deafness. His observations concerned normal hearing individuals.
Weber law
A foundational psychophysical principle: the ratio of the smallest perceptible difference between two stimuli the just-noticeable difference (JND) to the magnitude of the stimuli is constant over a range of intensities.
Note: Weber himself did not articulate a formal “law”; this was elaborated mathematically by Fechner (1860) who named it Weber’s Law and extended its psychophysical implications.
Weber’s Two-Point Threshold
A method to map tactile spatial acuity by determining the minimal distance at which two points of contact are perceived as distinct.
Weber’s Illusion
The perception of divergence or convergence of two moving points across areas of different tactile sensitivity.
Key medical attributions
- Pioneered experimental methods in sensory physiology and psychophysics
- Formulated just-noticeable difference (JND) and Weber’s Law
- Developed the two-point threshold technique for tactile mapping
- Discovered vagal inhibition of the heart in collaboration with Eduard Weber
- Advanced understanding of blood circulation through wave mechanics and vascular elasticity
- Described early auditory bone vs air conduction phenomena, foundational to the later Weber test
- Pioneered experimental psychology, influencing Fechner, Wundt, and later generations
- Published extensively on comparative anatomy, sensory physiology, circulation, and neurophysiology
Major Publications
- Weber EH. De aure et auditu hominis et animalium. Pars I. De aure animalium aquatilium. 1820
- Weber EH. Wellenlehre auf Experimente gegründet oder über die Wellen tropfbarer Flüssigkeiten mit Anwendung auf die Schall- und Lichtwellen. 1825
- Weber EH. Annotationes anatomicae et physiologicae. Prol. VII. 1830
- Weber EH. Handbuch der Anatomie des Menschen. 1833
- Weber EH. De pulsu, resorptione, auditu et tactu. Annotationes anatomicae et physiologicae, auctore. 1834
- Weber EH. Ueber den Tastsinn. Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medicin 1835: 152-159
- Weber EH. Zusätze zur Lehre vom Baue und den Verrichtungen der Geschlechtsorgane. 1846
- Weber EH. Die Lehre vom Tastsinne und Gemeingefühle auf Versuche gegründet. 1851
References
Biography
- Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878) leipzig physiologist. JAMA. 1967 Jan 23;199(4):272-3.
- Meischner W. Ernst Heinrich Weber, 1795-1878. Z Psychol Z Angew Psychol. 1978;186(2):159-69.
- Ross HE. Weber then and now. Perception. 1995;24(6):599-602.
- Fye WB. Profiles in cardiology. Ernst, Wilhelm, and Eduard Weber. Clin Cardiol. 2000 Sep;23(9):709-10.
Eponymous terms
- Hayes J. Eighth Cranial Nerve Lesions. FFS
- Weber Test. StatPearls
Eponym
the person behind the name
