Historical study: Cornelia C. de Lange (1871-1950)--a pioneer in clinical genetics

The life and work in the field of clinical genetics of one of the most outstanding Dutch pediatricians of the first half of the twentieth century, Cornelia C. de Lange (1871-1950), is described against the background of the development of pediatrics, anthropogenetics, and clinical genetics in the Netherlands. Cornelia de Lange specialized in and worked on all aspects of the broad field of pediatrics. During her 50 years of practice she collected an immense series of observations on pediatric disorders. As theories on human genetics developed during the 1920s and 1930s, her interest in congential disorders and heredity increased as she saw the implications for the pediatric clinic. She benefitted from her vast experience and her knowledge of the national and international literature when she recognised and described new entities, one of which is named after her: the Brachmann-De Lange syndrome.