Fritz Richard Schaudinn (19 September 1871 – 22 June 1906) was a German
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
.
Born in
Röseningken (now in
Ozyorsky District) in the
Province of Prussia, he co-discovered, with
Erich Hoffmann in 1905, the causative agent of
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
, ''Spirochaeta pallida'' (also known as ''Treponema pallidum''). The work was carried out at the Berlin
Charité.
Among Schaudinn's other contributions to medicine include his work in the field of
amoebic dysentery,
sleeping sickness
African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals.
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...
and his confirmation of the work of Sir
Ronald Ross and
Giovanni Battista Grassi
Giovanni Battista Grassi (27 March 1854 – 4 May 1925) was an Italian people, Italian physician and zoologist, best known for his pioneering works on parasitology, especially on malariology. He was Professor of Comparative Zoology at the Unive ...
(1854–1925) in the field of
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
research. He also demonstrated that human
hookworm infection is contracted through the skin of the feet. He made noted contributions to zoology and was one of the developers of
protozoology as an experimental science. Schaudinn was a graduate in zoology of the
Friedrich Wilhelm University in
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 ...
. Since 2002 an annual medical prize has been awarded in his name.
In 1898 with zoologist
Fritz Römer (1866–1909), he participated on a scientific trip to
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
. Results of the expedition led to publication of ''Fauna Arctica'', a project on
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
fauna begun by Schaudinn and Römer and continued by
August Brauer (1863–1917) and
Walther Arndt (1891–1944).
Smithsonian Institution
Fauna arctica
Schaudinn died during his journey back to Germany from an International Medicine Meeting in Lisbon, when he underwent an urgent surgery aboard due to gastrointestinal
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. ...
amoebian abscesses. Such amoebian infection had probably been voluntarily acquired when he did research on amoebas. Schaudinn was a little under 35 years of age when he died in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaudinn, Fritz
1871 births
1906 deaths
People from Ozyorsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast
Scientists from the Province of Prussia
German venereologists
19th-century German zoologists
20th-century German zoologists
Infectious disease deaths in Germany