He was born in Kolozsvár, Transylvania, Austrian Empire, to Jendrassik Jenő, who was a famous physician and professor of physiology. Jendrassik graduated from the University of Budapest in medicine in 1880. His first paper, Beiträge zur Lehre von den Sehnenreflexen, was published in 1883 and earned him local and international recognition. It was also the beginning of his research on reflexes.