Rudolf Virchow summary

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Rudolf Virchow, (born Oct. 13, 1821, Schivelbein, Pomerania, Prussia—died Sept. 5, 1902, Berlin), German pathologist, anthropologist, and statesman. In 1847 he cofounded the pathology journal now named for him (Virchows Archiv). He held the first chairs of pathological anatomy at the Universities of Würzburg (1849–56) and Berlin (1856–1902). In 1861 he was elected to the Prussian Diet and founded the Progressive Party. He coined the terms thrombosis and embolism while disproving the theory that phlebitis causes most diseases. His work supported emerging ideas on cell division and metabolism, pointing out that cell division accounted for the multiplication of cells to form tissues. His rejection of the theory that bacteria cause disease and of Ignaz Semmelweis’s advocacy of antisepsis delayed the use of antiseptics. Virchow also founded two anthropological societies and accompanied Heinrich Schliemann to Troy (1879) and Egypt (1888).

Superficial arteries and veins of the face and scalp.

anatomy Summary

Anatomy, a field in the biological sciences concerned with the identification and description of the body structures of living things. Gross anatomy involves the study of major body structures by dissection and observation and in its narrowest sense is concerned only with the human body. “Gross

physiology Summary

Physiology, study of the functioning of living organisms, animal or plant, and of the functioning of their constituent tissues or cells. The word physiology was first used by the Greeks around 600 bce to describe a philosophical inquiry into the nature of things. The use of the term with specific

Margaret Mead conducting fieldwork in Bali

anthropology Summary

Anthropology, “the science of humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species. Because of the diverse subject matter it encompasses,

Prussia Summary

Prussia, in European history, any of certain areas of eastern and central Europe, respectively (1) the land of the Prussians on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, which came under Polish and German rule in the Middle Ages, (2) the kingdom ruled from 1701 by the German Hohenzollern dynasty,