Kraepelin, << krai peh LEEN, >> Emil (1856-1926), a German psychiatrist, developed an early system for diagnosing and classifying mental illness. In his book Textbook of Psychiatry (first published in 1883), he defined mental illness as a disease of the brain. He then classified many mental disorders. He distinguished, for example, different forms of schizophrenia (diseases characterized by severe disturbances in thinking). Kraepelin believed that many mental illnesses were incurable. However, his work greatly advanced the search for causes and cures of mental disease.
Kraepelin was born in Neustrelitz, in present-day Germany. In 1878, he received a medical degree from the University of Wurzburg. He practiced psychiatry at several hospitals before serving as a professor at the universities of Dorpat, Heidelberg, and Munich.
See also Mental illness (History) .
