Brunner was born in Diessenhofen,[2] and studied medicine in Schaffhausen, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, London and Paris. At Schaffhausen he studied under Johann Jakob Wepfer (1620–1695), who was also his father-in-law. He received his doctorate in 1672 from the University of Strasbourg.[2] Beginning in 1686 he was a professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Heidelberg.[2] In 1716, Brunner was appointed personal physician to Charles III Philip the new Elector of the Palatinate.[2] He received many accolades during his life including a knighthood with the title "Brunn von Hammerstein".[2] He died in 1727 in Mannheim, Germany.[1]