Franz Riegel

Franz Riegel (February 9, 1843 - August 26, 1904) was a German internist and gastroenterologist who was a native of Brückenau.

He studied medicine at the University of Würzburg, and following graduation furthered his studies in Vienna with Johann von Oppolzer (1808-1871). Afterwards he returned to Würzburg as an assistant to Heinrich von Bamberger (1822-1888), and later Carl Gerhardt (1833-1902). In 1871 he was a lecturer of experimental pathology at the University of Würzburg, and in 1874 became director of the Cologne city hospital. In 1879 he was appointed to the chair of medicine at the University of Giessen, where he would remain until his death in 1904.

Riegel made several contributions involving studies of the circulatory system, including vasomotor influences, the effects of substances such as caffeine, atropine and jaborandi, as well as conditions of the heart and blood pressure in nephritis. He is remembered for research of gastric disorders that included extensive investigations of hyperacidity and hypersecretion.

His best known written work was an 1896 book on gastroenterology titled "Die Erkrankungen des Magens" (The Diseases of the Stomach), which was later translated into English.
* Associated eponym:
* "Riegel's pulse": A pulse that diminishes in volume during expiration.

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=3CITAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=Riegel+Giessen+1843&source=web&ots=rflMOqPbSd&sig=vAezlgb74JtWwG5Bzmoix-jts1A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result The Medical News, Biography]
* [http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?Riegel's+pulse Online Medical Dictionary, Definition of Eponym]