according to pearce, romberg acquired much of the wisdom and attitudes prevailing in english medicine when in 1820 he translated into german, andrew marshall’s (1742–1813) "the morbid anatomy of the brain" and charles bell’s "the nervous system of the human body". he revolutionised european neurology, publishing his "lehrbuch der nervenkrankheiten des menschen": the first systematic textbook in neurology. romberg’s contribution to neurology, and his establishing tabes dorsalis as a distinctive disease were of crucial importance. romberg’s sign, once synonymous with tabes dorsalis, became recognised as common to all proprioceptive disorders of the legs. his several major clinical contributions included: a classic description of achondroplasia (on which he wrote his graduation thesis entitled "congenital rickets" in 1817), progressive facial hemiatrophy, and an unmistakable description of the pupils in tertiary syphilis before e.j. remak and argyll robertson.