Hermann Braus (15 August 1868 – 28 November 1924) was a German anatomist who worked as a professor of comparative zoology at the University of Heidelberg and of anatomy 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 involved in studies on the evolution of the tetrapod limb and pioneered techniques for visualization in anatomical studies.

Life and work

Braus was born at Burscheid near Aachen to Bertha Ernestine and Otto Braus. He studied

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and then went to study medicine at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. After receiving a degree, he joined the University of Jena and worked on the anatomy collections. He collaborated with

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Zeiss (company), Zeiss. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted p ...

to improve microscopy for use in physiological and zoological studies. He began to study the nervous system of fish and wrote his dissertation on the topic in 1892 titled "''Über die Rami ventrales der vorderen Spinalnerven einiger Selachier''". Braus challenged the then reigning idea that muscle buds developed into skeletal elements in fishes. His studies of rays however showed that the skeleton and muscle developed independently. Braus was influenced by

Max Fürbringer Max Carl Anton Fürbringer (January 30, 1846 – March 6, 1920) was a German anatomist, known for his anatomical investigations of vertebrates and especially for his studies in ornithology on avian morphology and classification. He was responsible ...

and married the latter's daughter, Elizabeth. Braus moved to Würzburg as a professor in 1899 but moved to Heidelberg after the retirement of

Carl Gegenbaur Carl Gegenbaur (21 August 1826 – 14 June 1903)"Carl Gegenbaur – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.coBritannica-KarlG was a German anatomist and professor who demonstrated that the field of ...

, working again under Fürbringer. Braus became the head after Fürbringer retired. Braus worked on anatomy, and introduced new dissection and study techniques including the use of mercury injections followed by X-ray photography to study blood vessels. One of his students was Marie Kaufmann-Wolf (1877-1922). He published a two volume work on human anatomy in 1921. Braus moved to Würzburg in 1921 as an anatomist. He died from renal failure in 1924.

References

External links

University of Heidelberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braus, Hermann German anatomists 1868 births 1924 deaths University of Jena alumni