Erik Adolf von Willebrand

Erik Adolf von Willebrand ( born 1 February 1870 in Vaasa, † December 12, 1949 in Pernå ) was a Finnish hematologist.

Von Willebrand studied in Helsinki, where he received his doctorate in 1899 with the work to note the changes in the blood after venesection. From 1901 to 1903 he held lectures Anatomy at the University of Helsinki, from 1908 he taught internal medicine. He worked until his retirement in 1935 at the University.

In 1926 published von Willebrand swedish working Hereditary pseudohemofili in which he later claimed designated it described the von Willebrand syndrome, an inherited blood disorder that he had observed in a family of the Åland Islands and in contrast to, hemophilia, hemophilia, women were concerned. He called it, therefore, Hereditary pseudo hemophilia. Von Willebrand realized that there were mild and severe cases of disease and suspected a dominant inheritance. In the 1930s examined von Willebrand together with Rudolf Jürgens again the family of the Åland Islands, which then meant that the disease was subsequently called von Willebrand - Jürgens - thrombopathy of two published works, today is a particularly in German-speaking usual name Willebrand syndrome. In the 1950s, a factor that shortens the bleeding time was described as the cause of the disease involved. This factor was later identified as a protein and was named von Willebrand factor.