[Korbinian Brodmann (1868-1918)].

Brodmann, an anatomically orientated neuropsychiatrist, is one of the most influential cortical localizationists. His comparative studies and brain maps are still fundamental for the descriptive anatomy of the cortex. Brodmann made his main contributions while working at the brain research institute of Oskar Vogt in Berlin (1901-1910). Due to unfavourable circumstances he was unable to extend his findings much further. We recount his biography on the basis of new source material, recently collected through a memorial archive in his hometown in south-west Germany. Modern methods have corroborated Brodmann's concept of cortical parcellation into "areae"--although their function is still largely unknown.