Rudolf Virchow

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Rudolf Carl Virchow

Library of Congress

[b. Schivelbein, Pomerania (Poland), October 13, 1821, d. Berlin, September 5, 1902]

Virchow's many discoveries include cells in bone and connective tissue; substances, such as myelin; and pathologies, such as embolism and leukemia. In 1855 he published his now-famous aphorism omnis cellula e cellula ("every cell stems from another cell"). He also stated that all diseases involve changes in normal cells--that is, all pathology ultimately is cellular pathology.

Rudolph Virchow (1821–1902) was one of the towering figures of nineteenth-century medicine, pathology, and social reform. He studied medicine in Berlin and taught there for a great part of his life, with interludes in Silesia and Würzburg. His primary field was pathology, to which he made prolific contributions, including the founding in 1847 of Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie (known as "Virchow's Archives"), which still survives as a leading journal of pathology. In 1848 he served on a commission to investigate an epidemic of typhus, for which he wrote a penetrating report criticizing the social conditions that fostered the spread of the disease. He had already established a reputation as a crusading social reformer, and this report consolidated that reputation. He has since been identified as much with what came to be called "social medicine" as with his primary specialty of pathology.

Virchow's writings and speeches are full of observations and recommendations about ways to improve people's health by improving their economic and social conditions. He helped to shape the health care reforms introduced in Germany under Otto von Bismarck. He entered politics, serving in the German Reichstag (1880–1893), while also directing the Pathological Institute in Berlin. His prolific writings, while mainly on topics in pathology, included many essays and addresses on social medicine and public health. These writings remain relevant over one hundred years after they were first written. Virchow also contributed substantially to anthropology, paleontology, and archeology.

(SEE ALSO: History of Public Health; Social Medicine; Typhus, Epidemic)

Bibliography

Virchow, R. (1985). Collected Essays on Public Health and Epidemiology, ed. and trans. L. J. Rather. Canton, MA: Science History Publications.

— JOHN M. LAST

The German medical scientist, anthropologist, and politician Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (1821-1902) was the founder of the school of "cellular pathology, " which forms the basis of modern pathology.

Rudolf Virchow was born on Oct. 13, 1821, in Schivelbein, the only child of a farmer and city treasurer. In 1839 Virchow entered the Friedrich Wilhelms Institute in Berlin to undertake medical studies in preparation for a career as an army doctor. He came under the strong influence of Johannes Müller, who encouraged many German doctors to use experimental laboratory methods in their medical studies. Virchow received his medical degree in 1843, having already shown a keen interest in pathology.

In 1845, while still working as an intern, Virchow published his first scientific paper. By this year he had committed himself to a research methodology based on a mechanistic understanding of vital phenomena. Medical research, according to Virchow, needed to use clinical observation, experiments on animals, and microscopic examination of human tissues in order to understand how ordinary chemical and physical laws could explain the normal and abnormal phenomena associated with life. He accepted the cell theory as one basic element in this mechanistic understanding of life. In committing himself to this view, he joined a group of radical young medical scientists who were then challenging the dominant vitalism of an older generation.

In 1846 Virchow began to teach courses in pathological anatomy. In 1847 he was appointed to his first academic position with the rank of privatdozent. In the same year he and a colleague, Benno Reinhardt, published the first volume of a medical journal, the Archives for PathologicalAnatomy and Physiology and Clinical Medicine. Virchow continued to edit this journal until his death in 1902.

Virchow's radical political views were clearly shown in 1848, the year of revolution in Germany. Early in the year Virchow presented a report on a typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia in which he recommended that the best way to avoid a repetition of the epidemic would be to introduce democratic forms of government. When the revolution broke out in Berlin, Virchow joined the revolutionaries fighting on the barricades. He threw himself wholeheartedly into the revolution, much to the displeasure of his father. He participated in a number of democratic clubs and helped edit a weekly paper, Die medizinische Reform, which promoted revolutionary ideas in relation to the medical profession.

Virchow's political views led to his suspension by the reestablished conservative government in 1849. The suspension was quickly revoked because of the hostile reaction of the medical fraternity. Later the same year Virchow was appointed professor at the University of Würzburg. Shortly after, he married Rose Mayer, the daughter of a leading German gynecologist.

The chair at Würzburg was the first one in Germany to be devoted to pathological anatomy. During Virchow's 7 years there, the medical school became recognized as one of the best in Europe, largely due to his teaching. He developed his concept of "cellular pathology, " basing his interpretation of pathological processes on the recently formulated cell theory of Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. In the same period he became joint editor of an annual publication reviewing the year's progress in medical science. This publication later became known as Virchow's Jahresbericht, and he continued to edit it until his death. He also started work in 1854 on his Handbook of Special Pathology and Therapeutics, which became the model for later German "handbooks" in various sciences. Although Virchow's main interest at Würzburg was pathology, he also continued to work in the field of public health and began researches in physical anthropology.

In 1856 Virchow accepted a chair at the University of Berlin on condition that a new building be constructed for a pathological institute. He remained in this position for the rest of his life. From 1859 Virchow renewed his activities in politics. In that year he was elected as a member of the city council, on which he served until his death. On the council he mainly interested himself in matters of public health. In 1861 Virchow was one of the foundation members of the Deutsche Fortschrittpartei and was elected in the same year to the Prussian Diet. He vigorously opposed Bismarck's preparations for war and his "blood and iron" policy of unifying Germany.

In the late 1860s and 1870s Virchow concentrated his attention on anthropology and international medical relations. He was active in numerous international medical congresses during this period and kept a continuing interest in the control and prevention of epidemics.

In 1873 Virchow was elected to the Prussian Academy of Science. All his contributions to this body were in the field of anthropology, mostly concerning physical anthropology and archeology. In his new field as in others he took up the task of editing a leading journal, the Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie. Virchow's later years continued to be active, especially in relation to his editorial duties. He died on Sept. 5, 1902.

Further Reading

A good selection of Virchow's writings is Disease, Life and Man, translated and introduced by Lelland J. Rather (1958). The best account in English of his life is Erwin H. Ackerknecht, Rudolf Virchow: Doctor, Statesman, Anthropologist (1953).

Additional Sources

Ackerknecht, Erwin Heinz, Rudolf Virchow, New York: Arno Press, 1981, 1953.

Boyd, Byron A., Rudolf Virchow: the scientist as citizen, New York: Garland, 1991.

Letters to his parents, 1839 to 1864, Canton, MA: Science History Publications, U.S.A., 1990.

Virchow, Rudolf (Schivelbein, Pomerania 1821-1902, Berlin), an outstanding pathologist of humble origin, became a university lecturer in 1847 in Berlin, but as a Liberal had to flee abroad (i.e. to South Germany) in 1848 (see Revolutionen 1848-9). He obtained an appointment at Würzburg, and was recalled to Prussia in 1856 as director of the Pathologisches Institut and as professor of pathology at Berlin University. In his field of cellular pathology he made known important general principles as well as making significant discoveries of detail. His most widely known work was Vorlesungen über Pathologie (4 vols., 1858-67). His eminence was recognized abroad as well as at home and in 1892 he received the Copley medal of the Royal Society.

Virchow was also a noted anthropologist and visited the site of Troy with H. Schliemann in 1879, afterwards publishing Zur Landeskunde des Troas (1880) and Alt-trojanische Gräber und Schädel (1882). He remained all his life an active Liberal, founding the Progressive Party (Fortschrittspartei), and was a bitter opponent of Bismarck. He was a member of the Reichstag from 1880 to 1893.

Rudolph Ludwig Karl Virchow
Rudolph Virchow
Born	13 October 1821 (1821-10-13) Schivelbein (Pomerania)
Died	5 September 1902 (1902-09-06) (age 80) Berlin
Residence	marcus miller
Nationality	German
Fields	Medicine
Known for	Cellular pathology

Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (13 October 1821 – 5 September 1902) was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health. Referred to as "the father of modern pathology," he is considered one of the founders of social medicine.

Contents 1 Medical terms named after Virchow 2 Scientific career 2.1 Hostility toward antiseptics 3 Opposition to Darwinism 4 Political career 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

Medical terms named after Virchow

• Virchow's angle, the angle between the nasobasilar line and the nasosubnasal line.
• Virchow's cell, a macrophage in Hansen's disease.
• Virchow's cell theory, "omnis cellula e cellula" - every living cell comes from another living cell.
• Virchow's concept of pathology, comparison of diseases common to humans and animals.
• Virchow's disease, leontiasis ossea, now recognized as a symptom rather than a disease.
• Virchow's gland, Virchow's node.
• Virchow's Law, during craniosynostosis, skull growth is restricted to a plane perpendicular to the affected, prematurely fused suture and is enhanced in a plane parallel to it.
• Virchow's line, a line from the root of the nose to the lambda.
• Virchow's metamorphosis, lipomatosis in the heart and salivary glands.
• Virchow's method of autopsy, a method of autopsy where each organ is taken out one by one.
• Virchow's node, the presence of metastatic cancer in a lymph-node in the supraclavicular fossa (root of the neck left of the midline). Also known as Troisier's sign.
• Virchow's psammoma, psammoma bodies in meningiomas.
• Virchow-Robin spaces, enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) (often only potential) that surround blood vessels for a short distance as they enter the brain.
• Virchow-Seckel syndrome, a very rare disease also known as "bird-headed dwarfism".
• Virchow's triad, factors contributing toward venous thrombus formation.

He concluded that for cells to be created they must go through mitosis.

Scientific career

From a farming family, Virchow studied medicine and chemistry in Berlin at the Prussian Military Academy on a scholarship. When he graduated in 1843 he went to serve as Robert Froriep's assistant. One of his major contributions to German medical education was to encourage the use of microscopes by medical students and was known for constantly urging his students to 'think microscopically'. The campus where this Charité hospital is located is named after him, the Campus Virchow Klinikum.

Virchow is credited with multiple important discoveries. Virchow's most widely known scientific contribution is his cell theory, which built on the work of Theodor Schwann. He is cited as the first to recognize leukemia cells. He was one of the first to accept the work of Robert Remak who showed that the origins of cells was the division of preexisting cells.^[1]. This Virchow encapsulated in the epigram Omnis cellula e cellula ("every cell originates from another existing cell like it.") which he published in 1858. (The epigram was actually coined by François-Vincent Raspail but popularized by Virchow).^[2] It is a rejection of the concept of spontaneous generation, which held that organisms could arise from non-living matter. It was believed, for example, that maggots could spontaneously appear in decaying meat; Francesco Redi carried out experiments which disproved this. Redi's work gave rise to the maxim Omne vivum ex ovo ("every living thing comes from a living thing" [literally, "from an egg"]), Virchow (and his predecessors) extended this to state that the only source for a living cell was another living cell.

Another significant credit relates to the discovery, made approximately simultaneously by Virchow and Charles Emile Troisier, that an enlarged left supra-clavicular node is one of the earliest signs of gastrointestinal malignancy, commonly of the stomach, or less commonly, lung cancer. This has become known as Virchow's node and simultaneously Troisier's sign.

Virchow is also famous for elucidating the mechanism of pulmonary thromboembolism, coining the term embolism. He noted that blood clots in the pulmonary artery originate first from venous thrombi, stating: "The detachment of larger or smaller fragments from the end of the softening thrombus which are carried along by the current of blood and driven into remote vessels. This gives rise to the very frequent process on which I have bestowed the name of Embolia." Related to this research, Virchow described the factors contributing to venous thrombosis, Virchow's triad.

Furthermore, Virchow founded the medical fields of cellular pathology and comparative pathology (comparison of diseases common to humans and animals). His very innovative work may be viewed as sitting between that of Morgagni whose work Virchow studied, and that of Paul Ehrlich, who studied at the Charité while Virchow was developing microscopic pathology there.

Rudolph Virchow, by Hugo Vogel

In 1869 he founded the Society for anthropology, ethnology and prehistory (Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte) which was very influential in coordinating and intensifying German archaeological research. In 1885 he launched a study of craniometry, which gave surprising results according to contemporary scientific racist theories on the "Aryan race", leading him to denounce the "Nordic mysticism" in the 1885 Anthropology Congress in Karlsruhe. Josef Kollmann , a collaborator of Virchow, stated in the same congress that the people of Europe, be them German, Italian, English or French, belonged to a "mixture of various races," furthermore declaring that the "results of craniology" led to "struggle against any theory concerning the superiority of this or that European race" on others .^[3]

In 1861, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1892 he was awarded the Copley Medal. Among his most famous students was anthropologist Franz Boas, who became a professor at Columbia University.

He was a very prolific writer. Some of his works are:

• Mittheilungen über die in Oberschlesien herrschende Typhus-Epidemie, (1848)
• Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre., (1858), English translation, (1860)
• Handbuch der speciellen Pathologie und Therapie, (1854-62)
• Vorlesungen über Pathologie, (1862-72)
• Die krankhaften Geschwülste, (1863-67)
• Gegen den Antisemitismus, (1880)

He also developed a standard method of autopsy procedure, named for him, that is still one of the two main techniques used today. More than a laboratory physician, Virchow was an impassioned advocate for social and political reform, stating that physicians should act as "attorneys for the poor." His views are evident in his "Report on the Typhus Outbreak of Upper Silesia (1848), "writing that the outbreak could not be solved by treating individual patients with drugs or with minor changes in food, housing, or clothing laws, but only through radical action to promote the advancement of an entire population.^[4] He is widely regarded as a pioneer of social medicine.^[5] and anthropology."^[6]

He died of heart failure. Virchow was buried in the St Matthews Cemetery in Schöneberg, Berlin.

Hostility toward antiseptics

Despite these many accomplishments in medicine, Virchow's reputation is blackened by his rejection of and hostility towards the theory that bacteria cause disease. His attacks on Ignaz Semmelweis's advocacy of antisepsis delayed the use of antiseptics.^[7]

Opposition to Darwinism

Virchow famously delivered an anti-Darwinian lecture on Menschen- und Affenschädel in which he emphasized the lack of fossil evidence for a common ancestor of man and ape.

Political career

Virchow also worked as a politician (member of the Berlin City Council, the Prussian parliament since 1861, German Reichstag 1880-1893) to improve the health care conditions for the Berlin citizens, namely working towards modern water and sewer systems. Virchow is also credited with the founding of "Social Medicine", frequently focusing on the fact that disease is never purely biological, but often, socially derived. As a co-founder and member of the liberal party (Deutschen Fortschrittspartei) he was a leading political antagonist of Bismarck.

It is said (though not confirmed) that Otto von Bismarck challenged Rudolf Virchow to a duel. Virchow, who as the challenged party had the choice of weapons, chose two sausages, one of which had been inoculated with cholera. Bismarck is said to have called off the duel at once.^[8]

One area where he co-operated with Bismarck was in the Kulturkampf, the anti-clerical campaign against the Catholic Church^[9] claiming that the anti-clerical laws bore "the character of a great struggle in the interest of humanity".^[10] It was during the discussion of Falk’s May Laws (Maigesetze) that Virchow first used the term.^[11]

Virchow was respected in Masonic circles,^[12] and according to one source^[13] may have been a freemason, though no official record of this has been found.

The Society for Medical Anthropology gives an annual award in Virchow's name, Rudolph Virchow Award.

References

1. ^ A history of the life sciences, Lois N. Magner, p185
2. ^ Tan SY, Brown J (July 2006). "Rudolph Virchow (1821-1902): "pope of pathology"" (PDF). Singapore Med J 47 (7): 567–8. PMID 16810425. http://www.sma.org.sg/smj/4707/4707ms1.pdf. 
3. ^ Andrea Orsucci, "Ariani, indogermani, stirpi mediterranee: aspetti del dibattito sulle razze europee (1870-1914), Cromohs, 1998 (Italian)
4. ^ http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/full/96/12/2102
5. ^ http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/full/96/12/2104
6. ^ Rx for Survival . Global Health Champions . Paul Farmer, MD, PhD | PBS at www.pbs.org
7. ^ HighBeam Encyclopedia http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-382053.html
8. ^ Isaac Asimov, Treasury of Humor, page 202.
9. ^ "This anti-Catholic crusade was also taken up by the Progressives, especially Rudolf Virchow, though Richter himself was tepid in his occasional support." Authentic German Liberalism of the 19th Century by Ralph Raico
10. ^ "The term came into use in 1873, when the scientist and Prussian liberal statesman Rudolf Virchow declared that the battle with the Roman Catholics was assuming “the character of a great struggle in the interest of humanity.”" from Kulturkampf. (2006). Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 25, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica
11. ^ A leading German school teacher, Rudolf Virchow, characterized Bismarck's struggle with the Catholic Church as a Kulturkampf - a fight for culture - by which Virchow meant a fight for liberal, rational principles against the dead weight of medieval traditionalism, obscurantism, and authoritarianism." from The Triumph of Civilization by Norman D. Livergood and "Kulturkampf \Kul*tur"kampf`\, n. [G., fr. kultur, cultur, culture + kampf fight.] (Ger. Hist.) Lit., culture war; - a name, originating with Virchow (1821 - 1902), given to a struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the German government" Kulturkampf in freedict.co.uk
12. ^ "Rizal's Berlin associates, or perhaps the word "patrons" would give their relation better, were men as esteemed in Masonry as they were eminent in the scientific world--Virchow, for example." in JOSE RIZAL AS A MASON by AUSTIN CRAIG, The Builder Magazine, August 1916 - Volume II - Number 8
13. ^ "It was a heady atmosphere for the young Brother, and Masons in Germany, Dr. Rudolf Virchow and Dr. Feodor Jagor, were instrumental in his becoming a member of the Berlin Ethnological and Anthropological Societies." From Dimasalang: The Masonic Life Of Dr. Jose P. Rizal By Reynold S. Fajardo, 33° by Fred Lamar Pearson, Scottish Rite Journal, October 1998

Further reading

• Becher, Rudolf Virchow, Berlin, (1891)
• J. L. Pagel, Rudolf Virchow, Leipzig, (1906)
• Erwin H. Ackerknecht, Rudolf Virchow: Doctor, Statesman, Anthropologist, Madison, (1953)
• Virchow, RLK (1978) Cellular pathology. 1859 special ed., 204-207 John Churchill London, UK.
• The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes by Tomás de Comyn at Project Gutenberg , available at Project Gutenburg (co-authored by Virchow with Tomás Comyn, Fedor Jagor, and Chas Wilkes)
• (1) Rudolf Virchow, Menschen- und Affenschadeh Vortrag gehalten am 18. Febr. 1869 im Saale des Berliner Handwerkervereins. Berlin: Luderitz, (1870)

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rudolf Virchow

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rudolf Virchow

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Virchow, Rudolf.

• Becher, Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes, available at Project Gutenburg (co-authored by Virchow with Tomás Comyn, Fedor Jagor, and Chas Wilkes)
• Short biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
• Students and Publications of Virchow
• A biography of Virchow at Whonamedit.com, including phenomena named after him
• A biography of Virchow by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons that deals with his early work in Cerebrovascular Pathology
• An English translation of the complete 1848 Report on the Typhus Epidemic in Upper Silesia is available in the February 2006 edition of the journal Social Medicine
• Some places and memories related to Rudolf Virchow

Persondata
NAME	Virchow, Rudolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Virchow, Rudolf Ludwig Karl; "Father of Pathology"
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German doctor, anthropologist, public health activist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 13, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH	Schivelbein (Pomerania)
DATE OF DEATH	September 5, 1902
PLACE OF DEATH	Berlin, Germany

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