Translating the seminal findings of Carl Lüderitz: A description in English of his extraordinary studies of gastrointestinal motility accompanied by a historical view of peristalsis

Abstract

Background: Carl Lüderitz provided the first comprehensive description of peristalsis in vivo in his publication from 1889 before Bayliss and Starling described the peristaltic reflex in isolated intestinal segments ex vivo 10 years later. At that time, the peristaltic reflex, responsible for progression of intestinal content, was referred to as the Lüderitz-Bayliss-Starling reflex. This shows that his peers around 1900 were very well aware of the significant impact of Lüderitz´s papers. Purpose: A major intention in this review is to bring the significant contributions by Dr. Carl Lüderitz (1854–1930) to the attention of our colleagues working in the field of Gastroenterology, in particular those interested in Neurogastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Motility. Until 1891, Carl Lüderitz published five more papers on the sensory and motor components of peristalsis including one seminal paper on stimulus-evoked muscle responses in the stomach in vivo. For most of his life, Carl Lüderitz was a practicing physician and doctor for the poor in Berlin. He spent a rather short time in academia, mostly during his studies in Jena under supervision of his cousin, the famous internist Hermann Nothnagel, and later in Berlin, where he volunteered for short periods at various university institutes but without any formal appointment. This paper is to honor Carl Lüderitz. We divided it into four chapters: a short biography, a summary and evaluation of his contributions, a translation of his seminal paper on peristalsis, and finally a historical view on peristalsis.