Woldemar Kernig
Encyclopedia
Woldemar Kernig, better known as Vladimir Mikhailovich Kernig ' onMouseout='HidePop("69590")' href="/topics/Liepaja">Liepāja
- April 18, 1917 in St. Petersburg) was a notable Russian and Baltic German
internist and neurologist
whose medical discoveries saved thousands of people with meningitis
. He is best known for his pioneering work on diagnostics. Kernig's sign is named after him.
Today, the maneuver is usually performed with the patient supine
with hips and knees in flexion. Extension of the knees is attempted: the inability to extend the patient’s knees beyond 135 degrees without causing pain constitutes a positive test for Kernig’s sign.
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
- April 18, 1917 in St. Petersburg) was a notable Russian and Baltic German
Baltic German
The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...
internist and neurologist
Neurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
whose medical discoveries saved thousands of people with meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
. He is best known for his pioneering work on diagnostics. Kernig's sign is named after him.
Kernig's sign
Original description in 1882: During the examination, the patient was seated upright with hips and knees flexed. Kernig would then attempt to extend the patient’s knee. He noted that, in patients with meningitis, he was unable to extend the knee beyond 135 degrees without causing pain.Today, the maneuver is usually performed with the patient supine
Supine position
The supine position is a position of the body: lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down, sometimes with the hands behind the head or neck. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the...
with hips and knees in flexion. Extension of the knees is attempted: the inability to extend the patient’s knees beyond 135 degrees without causing pain constitutes a positive test for Kernig’s sign.
Publications
- Über Milzabscesse nach Febris recurrens. St. Petersburger medicinische Zeitschrift, 1867, XII.
- Über subfebrile Zustände von erheblicher Dauer. Deutsches Archiv für klinische Medicin, Leipzig, 1879, XXIV.
- Über ein Krankheitssymptom der acuten Meningitis. St. Petersburger medicinische Wochenschrift 1882; VII.
- Vorläufiger Bericht über die in der Frauenabteilung des Obuchow-Hospitals nach Koch’scher Methode behandelten Schwindsüchtigen. Deutsches Archiv für klinische Medicin, Leipzig, 1891, XVI.
- Über subcutane Injectionen an den Lungenspitzen ohne pathologische Veränderungen an denselben. Deutsches Archiv für klinische Medicin, Leipzig, 1898; XXXIV.
- Bericht über die mit Tuberculin R im Obuchow-Frauenhospital behandelten Lungenkranken. St. Petersburger medicinische Wochenschrift, 1898; XXIII.
Further reading
- M. Welz, A. Lindner. Vladimir Kernig (1840–1917). Der Nervenarzt 2003;74:935-936 (German)
- M Krasnianski, P Tacik, T Müller, S Zierz. Attenuation of Kernig’s sign by concomitant hemiparesis: forgotten aspects of a well known clinical test. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 2007;78:1413-1414