Friedrich Sigmund Merkel (5 April 1845 – 28 May 1919) was a leading German

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 histopathologist of the late 19th century. In 1875, he provided the first full description of ''Tastzellen'' (touch cells), which occur in the skin of all vertebrates. They were subsequently given the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

" Merkel cells" in 1878 by Robert Bonnet (1851–1921). Merkel was a native of Nürnberg. In 1869 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Erlangen, becoming habilitated in the field 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 ...

during the following year. He was a professor at the Universities of

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

(from 1872),

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(from 1883) and

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

(from 1885). At Göttingen, he worked under Jacob Henle and married Henle's daughter Anne. He published a multivolume textbook on human anatomy and originated the color scheme used by most anatomy texts today: red for arteries, blue for veins, and yellow for nerves. He introduced xylene as a clearing agent 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 ...

, and it is still used today Two of his better known assistants were Dietrich Barfurth (1849-1927) and Hermann Kuhnt (1850-1925). The term "Merkel's spur" is synonymous with the femoral calcar.

Selected publications

* ''Makroskopische Anatomie des Auges und seiner Umgebungen''; In Handbuch der Augenheilkunde;

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 1874; second edition with Erich Kallius (1867-1935) in 1901 - Macroscopic anatomy of the eye and its environment. * ''Das Mikroskop und seine Anwendung'', 1875 - The microscope and its application. * ''Über die Endigungen der sensiblen Nerven in der Haut der Wirbeltiere'',

, 1880 - On sensory nerve terminations in the skin of vertebrates. * ''Handbuch der topographischen Anatomie'' 1885 to 1907 - Manual of topographical anatomy. * ''Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwickelungsgeschichte''; from 1892, one annual volume, published with Robert Bonnet (1851-1921) - Anatomical results and developmental history. * ''Menschliche Embryonen verschiedenen Alters auf Medianschnitten untersucht'', 1894. * ''Die Anatomie des Menschen. Mit Hinweisen auf die ärztliche Praxis'', (11 volumes) 1913 to 1918 - Human anatomy, with reference to the practice of medicine.Friedrich Sigmund Merkel - bibliography
@ Who Named It

References

External links

''Friedrich Sigmund Merkel''
@ Who Named It 1845 births 1919 deaths People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German anatomists German pathologists Academic staff of the University of Rostock Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Königsberg Physicians from Nuremberg Scientists from the Kingdom of Bavaria {{Germany-scientist-stub