Paul Ernst (1859-1937) was a Swiss pathologist who studied in Zurich, Berlin and Heidelberg under

Edwin Klebs Theodor Albrecht Edwin Klebs (6 February 1834 – 23 October 1913) was a German-Swiss microbiologist. He is mainly known for his work on infectious diseases. His works paved the way for the beginning of modern bacteriology, and inspired Louis Pas ...

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( ; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he i ...

and

Julius Arnold Julius Arnold (19 August 1835 – 3 February 1915) was a German pathologist born in Zurich. He was the son of anatomist Friedrich Arnold (1803–1890). He studied medicine at the Universities of Heidelberg, Prague, Vienna and Berlin, where he wa ...

.Andreas Wieser (Zurich; 1993) Inaugural dissertation. Der Pathologe Paul Ernst (1859-1937)

Early life and education

He was born on April 26, 1859, in Zurich In the family house "Zum Garten" of the von Muralt family as the eldest son of Dr Friedrich Ernst and Anna Elisabeth von Muralt and died in 1937. His father was also a medical doctor and, for a short term (1860-1863), professor and director of the medical and surgery outpatient clinic in Zurich. His mother's lineage produced many famous physicians, such as Johannes von Muralt (1645-1733) and Ludwig von Muralt (1869-1917). Paul was conferred

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1884 with his thesis entitled: "Zur Aetiologie der Nephritis", in which he focussed on the bacterial origin of

glomerulonephritis Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a term used to refer to several kidney diseases (usually affecting both kidneys). Many of the diseases are characterised by inflammation either of the glomeruli or of the small blood vessels in the kidneys, hence the ...

Career

His thesis shifted his interest towards infectious diseases, and he subsequently worked from 1885 to 1886 under the supervision of

in Berlin. Here, he also attended demonstrations and lectures of

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 ...

. This was followed by an appointment as a pathology assistant with

at the Ruperto Carola Universitat in

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 ...

. Here, he was selected because of his knowledge of

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

. He was appointed as an extraordinary professor of

pathology 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 ...

at the Ruperto Carola Universitat in

in 1893, followed by an appointment as full professor and director of the Institute for 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 ...

from 1900-1907. From 1904 to 1906, he was dean of the university's medical faculty. He was subsequently asked to return to the University of Heidelberg, where he was appointed full professor and successor to his former mentor

from 1907-1928. Here, he was appointed twice as dean of the medical faculty in 1908-1909 and 1918-1919, respectively. He published on various subjects of pathology in more than 100 scientific contributions such as on histopathological staining methods of

corynebacterium xerosis ''Corynebacterium xerosis'' is a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium in the genus ''Corynebacterium''. Although it is frequently a harmless Commensalism, commensal organism living on the skin and in the mucous membranes, ''C. xerosis'' is also ...

and

corynebacterium diphtheriae ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' is a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs–Löffler bacillus because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich ...

. He discovered and described together with

Victor Babeș Victor Babeș (; 28 July 1854 in Vienna – 19 October 1926 in Bucharest) was a Romanian physician, bacteriologist, academician and professor. One of the founders of modern microbiology, Victor Babeș is author of one of the first treatises of ba ...

metachromatic granules occurring in the protoplasm of

gram-positive bacteria In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. The Gram stain ...

protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

and

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, which were later known under the eponymous name Babes-Ernst granules or

Volutin granules Volutin granules are an intracytoplasmic storage form of complexed inorganic polyphosphate, the production of which is used as one of the identifying criteria when attempting to isolate ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' on Löffler's medium. Polyphos ...

. He worked on the structure of

myelin sheaths Myelin Sheath ( ) is a lipid-rich material that in most vertebrates surrounds the axons of neurons to insulate them and increase the rate at which electrical impulses (called action potentials) pass along the axon. The myelinated axon can be lik ...

of peripheral nerves and so-called spherical crystals in cancer cells. Painting Paul Ernst IMG 1800

He wrote a thoughtful contemporary reflection on the importance of Virchow's work on cellular pathology.Paul Ernst (1921): Virchows cellularpathologie einst und jetzt. Virchows Archiv 1921;235:52-151 Sixty-two students wrote dissertations under his supervision, originating from Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Romania and even New Zealand. Six of them eventually became professors:

Heinrich Zangger Heinrich Zangger (6 December 1874 – 15 March 1957) was a Swiss toxicologist and coroner. He was one of the "foremost forensic scientists of his generation". Biography Zangger was the son of a prosperous farmer and studied medicine at the Unive ...

(1874-1957), Felix Nager (1877-1959), Hans Hunziker (1878-1941), Karl Henschen, Willy Knoll, Emil Looser. He died in 1937 at the age of 78 in Heidelberg; His urn is buried in the family grave in Zurich.

References

Other sources

* Paul Ernst (1926): Das morphologische Bedurfnis. Die Naturwissenschaften 1926;14:1075-1080 * Paul Ernst (1931): Struktur und function. Verhandlungen des 25. Kongresses der Deutschen Orthopaedischen Gesellschaft 1931:15-31 * Paul Ernst (1936): Lebenslauf von Dr. Paul Ernst, inaktiver ordentlicher Professor in Heidelberg. 18 S.: Medizinhistorisches Institut der Universitaet Zurich * Neue Zurcher Zeitung: Kleine Chronik zu Paul Ernsts 70. Geburtstag. 22.04-1922 * Alexander Schmincke (1929): Zum 70. geburtstag von Paul Ernst, emer. Professor der Pathologie in Heidelberg. In Munchener Wochenschrift 76; 674 * Ludwig Aschoff (1938): Paul Ernst. in Zieglers Beitrage 100 (3)386-387 1859 births 1937 deaths Swiss pathologists Academic staff of Heidelberg University Academic staff of the University of Zurich {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Paul