Eber Landau (8 November 1878 – 30 October 1959) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

anatomist 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 ...

and

histologist Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures visi ...

. Landau was born in

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ''Rēzne'' or ''Rēzekne'' , ) is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven ...

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

, Russian Empire (now in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

). He studied medicine at the

Imperial University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

, graduating in 1902. Later, Landau continued his education with studies in

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the laboratory of histology at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1903) and at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

as an assistant of

Peter Lesgaft Peter Franzevich Lesgaft (; 21 September 1837 – 1909) was a Russian teacher, anatomist, physician and social reformer. He was the founder of the modern system of physical education and medical-pedagogical control in physical training, one of foun ...

(1837–1909). From 1906 to 1912 he worked in

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

as a

prosector A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and ...

-assistant in the anatomical institute directed by

August Rauber August Rauber (March 9, 1841 – February 16, 1917) was a German anatomist and embryologist born in Obermoschel in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Rauber was born the fourth of five children to Stephan Rauber and Rosalie née Oberlé. He studied me ...

(1841-1917). In 1913, Landau moved to the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

as an associate professor, shortly afterwards relocating to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he conducted

neurological Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

research under the directorship of

Joseph Jules Dejerine Joseph Jules Dejerine (3 August 1849 – 26 February 1917) was a French neurologist. Early life and education Dejerine was born to French parents in Geneva, Switzerland, where his father was a carriage proprietor. During the Franco-Prussian War ...

(1849-1917). In 1918, Landau returned to

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, where he spent several years working in the institute of anatomy. In 1923 he founded the department of histology 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 ...

Kaunas University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

. Here he served as departmental head until 1932, afterwards relocating to the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

, where he conducted investigations in the fields of brain anatomy, neurology and neurohistology.

Partial bibliography

* ''Materjaly dlia mikroskopicheskoj anatomii, fiziologii patologii nadpochechnoj zelesi. Disertacija'' (

Microscopic anatomy Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures visi ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

, and

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

suprarenal glands The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex which ...

). Doctoral dissertation) Jurjevas: Jurjevo Universitetas; 1907. * ''Die Sehrinde : eine anthropologische Studie an Schweizerhirnen'', 1914 - The

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalam ...

. * ''Anatomie des grosshirns, formanalytische untersuchungen'', 1923 - Anatomy of the

cerebrum The cerebrum (: cerebra), telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres) as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfac ...

, formal analytic investigations. * ''Biologi koji reliatyvyb s teorija'' (Theory of biological relativity) Kosmos 1925;5:265-375. * ''Saul olin – nauji da ai histologijos technikoje'' (Sun

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

as a source of a new type of dyes used in histology) Medicina (Kaunas); 1930. * ''Trumpas histologijos technikos vadov lis'' (A short manual of histological techniques) Kaunas; 1930. * ''Le claustrum parvum chez l'homme'', 1938 - The

claustrum The claustrum (Latin, meaning "to close" or "to shut") is a thin sheet of neurons and supporting glial cells in the brain, that connects to the cerebral cortex and subcortical regions including the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus. It is locate ...

parvum of humans. * ''Les voies de l'influx nerveux'', 1948 - The channels of

nerve impulse An action potential (also known as a nerve impulse or "spike" when in a neuron) is a series of quick changes in voltage across a cell membrane. An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific Cell (biology), cell rapidly ri ...

s.WorldCat Identities
(publications)

References

NCBI
Eber Landau, the very first chief of Histology and Embryology Department at the University of Lithuania {{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Eber 1878 births 1959 deaths People from Rēzekne People from Rezhitsky Uyezd Physicians from the Russian Empire Latvian Jews Latvian anatomists 20th-century Latvian scientists Histologists University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of Vytautas Magnus University Academic staff of the University of Bern Academic staff of the University of Lausanne Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland