Wernicke's encephalopathy revisited. Translation of the case history section of the original manuscript by Carl Wernicke 'Lehrbuch der Gehirnkrankheiten fur Aerzte and Studirende' (1881) with a commentary.

AIMS: A translation into English of the case history section of Carl Wernicke's original manuscript of 1881, with a discussion on its relevance for clinicians today.

METHODS

A copy of Carl Wernicke's original German text was obtained by one of the authors (CCHC) and translated into English from the old German by a professional translator.

RESULTS

The translation was subsequently agreed by native German speaking referees, and minor changes made.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors studied the translation in detail and concluded that Wernicke's description had stood the test of time. The diagnosis of Wernicke's Encephalopathy remains a clinical one.