Heinrich Koebner

Heinrich Koebner (German spelling Köbner); (2 December 1838 – 3 September 1904) was a German-Jewish dermatologist born in Breslau.

Afterwards he performed hospital duties in Vienna under Ferdinand von Hebra (1816–1880) and in Paris with Alfred Hardy (1811–1893).

[1] Koebner was a renowned dermatologist known for his research of psoriasis, epidermolysis bullosa simplex and various fungal disorders.

The Koebner phenomenon is the development of isomorphic pathologic lesions in the traumatized "uninvolved skin" of persons who have cutaneous diseases such as psoriasis.

In 1872, Koebner explained this phenomenon to the Silesian Society for National Culture, by presenting a case in which years after the appearance of an isolated plaque of psoriasis, several "traumatic" events in various areas of the body (tattoos, animal bite, suppuration from lymphadenitis, et al.) caused new outbreaks of psoriasis at exactly the same locations, in the same shape as the injured skin.