Transcript Rudolf Virchow

Rudolf Virchow
(1821–1902). One of the most prominent physicians of the 19th century, German scientist and
statesman Rudolf Virchow pioneered the modern concept of the pathological processes of disease. He
emphasized that diseases arose, not in organs or tissues in general, but primarily in individual cells.
Virchow also contributed to the development of anthropology as a modern science.
Rudolf Carl Virchow was born on Oct. 13, 1821, in Schivelbein, Prussia. He studied at the University of
Berlin and graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1843. As a young intern, Virchow published a paper on
one of the two earliest reported cases of leukemia; this paper became a classic. In 1849, Virchow was
appointed to the chair of pathological anatomy at the University of Würzburg—the first chair of that
subject in Germany. In 1856 Virchow became director of the Pathological Institute at the University of
Berlin.
Virchow's concept of cellular pathology replaced the existing theory that disease arose from an
imbalance of the four fluid humors of the body (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). He applied
the cell theory to disease processes and stated that diseased cells arose from preexisting diseased cells
(see Cell). In 1859 Virchow was elected to the Berlin City Council on which he dealt mainly with such
public health matters as sewage disposal, the design of hospitals, meat inspection, and school hygiene.
He also designed the new Berlin sewer system. Virchow was elected to the Prussian National Assembly in
1861 and to the German Reichstag in 1880.
Virchow's work in pathological anatomy had led him to begin anthropological work with studies of skulls.
He was the organizer of German anthropology, and in 1869 he founded the Berlin Society for
Anthropology, Ethnology, and Prehistory. Virchow died on Sept. 5, 1902, in Berlin, Germany.
Theodor Schwann
(1810–82). The German physiologist Theodor Schwann founded modern histology, a
branch of anatomy that deals with the minute structure of animal and plant tissues.
He defined the cell as the basic unit of animal and plant structure.
Schwann was born on Dec. 7, 1810, in Neuss, Prussia. After studying medicine in
Berlin, he assisted the physiologist Johannes Müller. In 1836, while investigating
digestive processes, Schwann isolated a substance responsible for digestion in the
stomach and named the substance pepsin. It was the first enzyme prepared from
animal tissue. While professor of physiology at the University of Louvain in Belgium
(1839–48), he observed the formation of yeast spores and concluded that the
fermentation of sugar and starch was the result of life processes. He later extended
the cell theory of animal structure to include plants and published his findings in 1839.
From 1849 to 1879 Schwann taught at the universities of Louvain and Liège in
Belgium.
Schwann also investigated muscular contraction and nerve structure. He discovered
the striated muscle in the upper esophagus and the myelin sheath covering peripheral
axons, which are now called Schwann cells. (See also Muscles; Nervous System.)
Schwann also coined the term metabolism for the chemical changes that take place in
living tissue, identified the role played by microorganisms in the decomposition of
organic matter, and formulated the basic principles of embryology by observing that
the egg is a single cell that eventually develops into a complete organism. Schwann
died on Jan. 11, 1882, in Cologne, Germany
Matthias Schleiden
German botanist, cofounder (with Theodor Schwann) of the cell theory.
Schleiden was educated at Heidelberg (1824–27) and practiced law in Hamburg but
soon developed his hobby of botany into a full-time pursuit. Repelled by
contemporary botanists' emphasis on classification, Schleiden preferred to study plant
structure under the microscope. While professor of botany at the University of Jena,
he wrote “Contributions to Phytogenesis” (1838), in which he stated that the different
parts of the plant organism are composed of cells or derivatives of cells. Thus,
Schleiden became the first to formulate what was then an informal belief as a
principle of biology equal in importance to the atomic theory of chemistry. He also
recognized the importance of the cell nucleus, discovered in 1831 by the Scottish
botanist Robert Brown, and sensed its connection with cell division. Schleiden was one
of the first German biologists to accept Darwin's theory of evolution. He became
professor of botany at Dorpat, Russia, in 1863
Read Each of these articles.
• Write a newspaper article as if today is the day
each of these men made their discoveries.
Describe what they discovered and why it is
important.
• Make it interesting, as if it is front page news!