Johannes Peter Müller
Wilms is credited for reintroducing tracheal surgery for problems caused by diphtheria and for his work with operations that included urethrotomy (surgery of the urethra). While still a student, he was part of an expedition headed by Johannes Peter Müller (1801–1858) to Helgoland, where he researched chaetognaths, which were the topic of his thesis, "Observationes de Sagitta mare germanicum circa Helgoland".