
Emil Osann (May 25, 1787 – January 11, 1842) was a German physician and
physiologist
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...
from
Weimar. He was a founder of scientific
balneology.
He was the brother of
philologist Friedrich Gotthilf Osann (1794-1858) and
chemist Gottfried Osann (1796-1866).
He studied medicine in
Jena and
Göttingen, and later worked an assistant in a
Berlin polyclinic founded by his uncle,
Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762–1836). In 1826 he became a full professor of ''Heilmittellehre'' (medical instruction), and in 1833 became director of the aforementioned clinic.
Osann is remembered for his work on the effects of
mineral springs from a physical and medical standpoint. Among his writings was a two-volume work on European
mineral spas, titled ''Physikalisch-medicinische Darstellung der bekannten Heilquellen der vorzüglichsten Länder Europas''. It is considered to be the first comprehensive publication in the field of
balneology.
In 1837 Osann became sole editor of the ''Journal der praktischen Heilkunde'' (Journal of Practical Medicine).
Bibliography
* ''Ideen zur Bearbeitung einer Geschichte der Physiologie : Vorwort und Einladung zu meinen öffentlichen Vorlesungen über Physiologie des menschlichen Organismus''; Berlin : Dümmler, 1815 - Ideas for editing a history of
physiology, etc.
* ''Die Mineralquellen zu Kaiser-Franzensbad bei Eger'', Historisch-medicinisch dargestellt von E. Osann und physikalisch-chemisch untersucht von B. Trommsdorff; Berlin : Dümmler, 1822 - The mineral springs of Kaiser Franzensbad near
Eger.
* ''Physikalisch-medicinische Darstellung der bekannten Heilquellen der vorzüglichsten Länder Europa's''; Berlin : F. Dümmler, 1829-1832 (second enlarged edition, Berlin: F. Dümmler, 1839-1841) - Physico-medicinal representation of the famous mineral springs of the principal countries of Europe.
IDREF.fr
(bibliography)
References
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
(biography)
* This article incorporates text based on a translation of an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia.
Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...
.
1787 births
1842 deaths
Balneotherapy
German physiologists
Physicians from Weimar
People from Saxe-Weimar
University of Jena alumni
University of Göttingen alumni
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
{{Germany-med-bio-stub