Alexander Rollett (14 July 1834 – 1 October 1903) was an Austrian

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

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 ...

born in

Baden bei Wien Baden (Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from Baden (disambiguation), other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden (district of Austria), Baden District in t ...

Niederösterreich Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which has been the capital of ...

. He studied with

Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke (; 6 July 1819 – 7 January 1892) was a German physician and physiologist. He worked on the nature of cells, physiology of language, the effect of electricity on muscles, and studies of albumin. He also made significa ...

(1819–1892) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and in 1863 became a professor of physiology and histology at the University in Graz. He was a prime factor in making Graz an international center for physiological training and education. Between 1872 and 1903 he was rector of the university four times, and from 1893 was president of the Styrian Medical Association. He was a member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

(1864), a corresponding member of the ''Societas Medicorum Svecana'' (1882) and the

Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

(1892). He was the author of numerous scientific papers on

gastric glands Gastric glands are glands in the lining of the stomach that play an essential role in the process of digestion. Their secretions make up the digestive gastric juice. The gastric glands open into gastric pits in the mucosa. The gastric mucosa i ...

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, a group of cells that are similar in structure, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesod ...

, blood cells,

tendons A tendon or sinew is a tough band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tension. Tendons, like ligaments, are made of ...

, nerves, etc. He also penned treatises on the construction and physiology of striated muscle fibers, and works involving the eye and eyesight that discussed topics such as

binocular vision Binocular vision is seeing with two eyes. The Field_of_view, field of view that can be surveyed with two eyes is greater than with one eye. To the extent that the visual fields of the two eyes overlap, #Depth, binocular depth can be perceived. Th ...

, color in

Newton's rings Newton's rings is a phenomenon in which an interference pattern is created by the reflection of light between two surfaces, typically a spherical surface and an adjacent touching flat surface. It is named after Isaac Newton, who investigated th ...

and subjective color. His name is associated with "Rollett's stroma", being defined as an insoluble, spongy network forming the framework of a

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

. Embedded within the interstices of Rollett's stroma is

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...

.
The practitioner's medical dictionary: containing all the words and phrases ... By George Milbry Gould, Richard John Ernst Scott Rollett was politically active, serving as a member of the Styria, Styrian Parliament and as a city council member in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. He was the grandson of

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Georg Anton Rollett (1778–1842), a nephew of

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Hermann Rollett (1819–1904), and the father of author Edwin Rollett (1889–1964) and physician Octavia Aigner-Rollett (1877–1959).

References

* Parts of the biography are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

, namel

''Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon'' 1815–1950 (ÖBL) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollett, Alexander Academic staff of the University of Graz 1834 births 1903 deaths Austrian physiologists Austrian histologists Scientists from Baden bei Wien Rectors of universities in Austria-Hungary Biologists from Austria-Hungary