Georg Eduard von Rindfleisch (15 December 1836 – 6 December 1908) was a German

pathologist 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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

and died in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

Academic career

He studied medicine 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 ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, earning his doctorate in 1859. After obtaining his degree, he served as an assistant to

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow ( ; ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder o ...

, then in 1862 received his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. In 1864 he became an associate professor of pathology at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

, and during the following year, attained a full professorship at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. In 1874 he acquired the chair of pathology at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

. He was one of the first proposers of a vascular theory for

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

after noticing in 1863 that the inflammation-associated lesions were distributed around veins. This work was the ground layer for the later

Tracy Putnam Tracy Jackson Putnam (April 14, 1894 – March 29, 1975) among other things was a co-discoverer of Dilantin for controlling epilepsy. Education Putnam graduated from Harvard College in 1915, and then from Harvard Medical School in 1920. Care ...

work in the vascular theory of MS. Also, he made noteworthy contributions in his pioneer research of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He was one of the leading advocates of scientific " neo-vitalism".Institut für Pathologie der Universität Würzburg
(biography)

Associated eponyms

* "Rindfleisch's folds": Semilunar folds of the

serous In physiology, serous fluid or serosal fluid (originating from the Medieval Latin word ''serosus'', from Latin ''serum'') is any of various body fluids resembling serum, that are typically pale yellow or transparent and of a benign nature. The fl ...

surface of the

pericardium The pericardium (: pericardia), also called pericardial sac, is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels. It has two layers, an outer layer made of strong inelastic connective tissue (fibrous pericardium), ...

around the beginning of the

aorta The aorta ( ; : aortas or aortae) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the Ventricle (heart), left ventricle of the heart, branching upwards immediately after, and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits at ...

. Also known as the ascending aortic fold. * "Rindfleisch's cells": Historical name for

eosinophilic Eosinophilic (Greek suffix '' -phil'', meaning ''eosin-loving'') describes the staining of tissues, cells, or organelles after they have been washed with eosin, a dye commonly used in histological staining. Eosin is an acidic dye for stainin ...

leukocyte White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...

Selected writings

* ''Lehrbuch der patologischen Gewebelehre''. Engelmann, Leipzig 1867. (Textbook of pathologic histology). * ''Die Elemente der Pathologie: ein natürlicher Grundriss der wissenschaftlichen Medicin''. Engelmann, Leipzig 1883. (Elements of pathology: an outline of natural scientific medicine). * ''Ärztliche Philosophie: Festrede zur Feier des 306''. Stiftungstages der Königlichen Julius-Maximilians-Universität. Hertz, Würzburg 1888.

Notes

References

* List of publications copied from 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 ...

.
Mondofacto Dictionary
definition of eponyms 1836 births 1908 deaths German pathologists German histologists Academic staff of the University of Würzburg Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of the University of Zurich Vitalists {{Germany-med-bio-stub