Rudolf Virchow

Rudolf  Virchow
Doctor

• Rudolf Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician, known for his advancement of public health. 
• Born: October 13, 1821, Świdwin, Poland
• Died: September 5, 1902, German Empire
• Nationality: Prussian
• Education: Prussian Military Academy (1839–1843)
• Books: Letters to his parents, 1839 to 1864, 
• Awards: Copley Medal

          German pathologist and statesman, one of the most prominent physicians of the 19th century. He pioneered the modern concept of pathological processes by his application of the cell theory to explain the effects of disease in the organs and tissues of the body. He emphasized that diseases arose, not in organs or tissues in general, but primarily in their individual cells.

Contributions and Achievements:

• When he was selected to look into a terrible outbreak of typhus fever in Germany, his report highlighted social conditions and blamed the government for the state of affairs that caused the outbreak. He concluded that improper system of sewers, deficiency of clean drinking water and unhygienic conditions led to the spread of the disease. As a consequence, Virchow was suspended for two weeks and he also faced degradation. Virchow, however, stood still in his reform efforts, and carried out on with his scientific research.

• An entire pathological institute was established for Virchow at the University of Berlin, where he worked for the rest of his career. He discovered that outside stimuli affected cells, and that diseased cells arise from already diseased and cancerous cells. He focused on clinical observation, physiological experiments and pathological anatomy, occasionally using laboratory animals, operating at the microscopic level. Virchow published probably his most influential work, “Cellular Pathology”, reporting that the cell was the most fundamental unit of disease pathologies, including that of cancer.

• In 1839 Virchow began the study of medicine at the Friedrich Wilhelm Institute of the University of Berlin and was graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1843. As an intern at the Charité Hospital, he studied pathological histology and in 1845 published a paper in which he described one of the two earliest reported cases of leukemia.

• In 1849 Virchow was appointed to the newly established chair of pathological anatomy at the University of Wurzburg—the first chair of that subject in Germany. During his seven fruitful years in that post, the number of medical students in the university increased from 98 to 388. Many men who later attained fame in the medical field received training there from him. In 1850 he married Rose Mayer, with whom he had three sons and three daughters. At Wurzburg Virchow published many papers on pathological anatomy.

• In 1856 a chair of pathological anatomy was established for Virchow at the University of Berlin; he accepted the call subject to certain conditions, one of which was the erection of a new pathological institute, which he used for the rest of his life. During much of this second Berlin period, Virchow actively engaged in politics. In 1859 he was elected to the Berlin City Council, focusing his attention on public health matters, such as sewage disposal, the design of hospitals, meat inspection, and school hygiene.

• In 1861 Virchow was elected to the Prussian Diet. He was a founder of the Fortschrittspartei (Progressive Party) and a determined and untiring opponent of Otto von Bismarck, who in 1865 challenged him to a duel, which he wisely declined.

Later Life and Death:

Rudolf Virchow was appointed a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1861. He was honored with the Copley Medal in 1892.