Joachim Bodamer

Joachim Bodamer, was a German neurologistresponsible for naming the disorder prosopagnosia. The selective inability to recognize faces was reported throughout the 19th century, and included case studies by Hughlings Jackson and Charcot but was not formally named until Bodamer ublished his work in 1947.

He described three cases, including a 24-year-old man who suffered a bullet wound to the head and lost his ability to recognize his friends, family, and even his own face. However, he was able to recognize and identify them through other sensory modalities such as auditory, tactile, and even other visual stimuli patterns (such as gait and other physical mannerisms). Bodamer gave his paper the title Die Prosop-Agnosie, derived from classical Greek πρόσωπον (prosopon) meaning "face" and αγνωσία (agnosia) meaning "non-knowledge".