Alexander Maximow
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Alexander Alexandrowitsch Maximow (; – December 4, 1928) was a Russian-American scientist in the fields of Histology and Embryology whose team developed the hypothesis about the existence of "polyblasts". Maximow is renowned for his experimental work on the unitarian theory of
hematopoiesis Haematopoiesis (; ; also hematopoiesis in American English, sometimes h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten ...
: all blood cells develop from a common precursor cell. Maximow served as a Corresponding Member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...
.


Biography

Alexander A. Maximow was born into an old and wealthy merchant family in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
in Russia. From 1882 onwards he was a pupil of Karl May School in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and in 1891 he entered the Imperial Military Medical Academy in Saint Petersburg, aged 17. During this time he completed his first scientific works, and he was awarded the gold medal for research on the "Histogenesis of experimentally induced amyloid degeneration of the liver in animals" published in the journal ''Russian Archives of pathology, clinical medicine and bacteriology''. In 1896, he earned a degree as a medical doctor from the same institution. Subsequently, he studied for two years in Germany at
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. Returning to Saint Petersburg, he served as professor of
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
and
embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...
from 1903 until 1922. While he could teach and pursue his research after the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
he could not arrange himself with living in communist Russia. He fled 1922 with his sister, his wife and his adopted son to the USA. From 1922 until his death in 1928, he served as a professor of
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
and conducted his research with his sister Claudia as congenial lab technician and co-worker at his side ("...(stand) ihm seine Schwester Claudia als kongeniale Laborantin und Mitarbeiterin zur Seite...") From 1896 until 1902, Maximow authored numerous papers, concerning a variety of histologic problems, which established the background for his future work. In the later stages of his career, Maximow was primarily interested in the blood and the connective tissues. After demonstrating that all blood cells develop from a common precursor cell, Maximow confirmed the unitarian theory of hematopoiesis. His other experimental work provided evidence confirming that lymphocytes of the blood and lymph nodes are undifferentiated cells. Maximow wrote "the world's most respected textbook in
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
," a book that became a standard text for medical students and ran to 12 editions. He also developed and introduced a unitarian theory of
hematopoiesis Haematopoiesis (; ; also hematopoiesis in American English, sometimes h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten ...
, a theory upon which the modern concept of
blood cells A blood cell (also called a hematopoietic cell, hemocyte, or hematocyte) is a cell produced through hematopoiesis and found mainly in the blood. Major types of blood cells include red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), ...
' origin and differentiation is based. For four years before Maximow's death, fellow histologist William Bloom worked closely with him on the ''Textbook of Histology''. Bloom ultimately completed the work, which was first published in 1930.Biography of William Bloom
Written by Ronald Singer
He died on December 4, 1928, in his sleep in Chicago after of a long-standing history of severe coronary arteriosclerosis.


Works

*Maximow, Alexander A. (1905). "Über Zellformen des lockeren Bindegewebes". ''Arch mikr Anat'' 67: 680–757. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1906). 'Über experimentelle Erzeugung von Knochenmarkgewebe". ''Anat Anz'' 28: 608–612. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1909). "Untersuchungen über Blut und Bindegewebe I. Die frühesten Entwicklungsstadien der Blut- und Bindegewebszellen beim Säugetierembryo, bis zum Anfang der Blutbilding in der Leber." Arch. Mikroskop. Anat. 73, 444–561. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1909)

''Folia Haematologica'' 8.1909, 125–134. Translation into English: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160729160125/http://www.ctt-journal.com/1-3-en-maximow-1909-translation.html The Lymphocyte as a stem cell common to different blood elements in embryonic development and during the post-fetal life of mammals], *Maximow, Alexander A. (1910). "Untersuchungen über Blut und Bindegewebe. III. Die embryonale Histogenese des Knochenmarks der Säugetiere". ''Arch mikr Anat'' 76: 1–113. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1924). "Relation of blood cells to connective tissues and endothelium." ''Physiological Revue'' 4 (4): 533–563. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1926). "Über undifferenzierte Blutzellen und mesenchymale Keimlager im erwachsenen Organismus". ''Klin Wochensch'' 5: 2193–2199. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1927). "Morphology of the mesenchymal reactions". ''Arch Pathol'' 4: 557–606. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1927). "Development of non-granular leucocytes (lymphocytes and monocytes) into polyblasts (macrophages) and fibroblasts in vitro". ''Proc Soc Exp Biol Med'' 24: 570–572. *Maximow, Alexander A. (1928). "Cultures of blood leucocytes. From lymphocyte and monocyte to connective tissue". ''Arch Exp Zellforsch'' 5: 169–268. *Maximow, Alexander A. and William Bloom (1930). ''A textbook of histology''. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.


References


External links


Cellular Therapy and Transplantation, Volume 1, Number 3, December 2009 - Focus: Maximow 1909 centenary
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120315141309/http://www.ctt-journal.com/1-3-en-friedenstein-1989.html Friedenstein A. Stromal-hematopoietic interrelationships: Maximov's ideas and modern models. Republished from Modern Trends in Human Leukemia VIII (1989), Ed. R. Neth, with kind permission by Springer Science and Business Media. Cell Ther Transplant. 2009;1:e.000033.01. ]
Friedenstein A. On stromal-hematopoietic interrelationships: Maximov's ideas and modern models
ecture at Wilsede Meeting 1988, Audio & Transcriptbr>Guide to the Alexander Maximow Papers 1902-1936
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maximow, Alexander A. 1874 births 1928 deaths Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy alumni Academics from the Russian Empire Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Pathologists from the Russian Empire University of Chicago faculty Soviet emigrants to the United States