Rehabilitating Romberg

Few Neurologists will be unfamiliar with referral letters stating that the patient has “Rhomberg’s sign” or some “mild rhombergism” (capitalisation variable), a particularly irritating misnomer for pedants among us. As Henry Higgins fictional Professor of Phonetics [1] observed: ‘Does same thing hold true in India, Pickering? Is there peculiar habit not only dropping letter like “h”, but using it where doesn’t belong, “hever” instead “ever”?’ My Fair Lady – Act 1, Scene 5, p58 [1]. Or Rhomberg Romberg! So, who was “Rhomberg,” and what did he describe?