Leopold Auerbach

Leopold Auerbach (27 April 1828 – 30 September 1897) was a German anatomist and neuropathologist born in Breslau. He is best known for discovering the myenteric plexus aka Auerbach’s plexus, which helps control the GI tract.

Leopold Auerbach
Born(1828-04-27)27 April 1828
Died30 September 1897(1897-09-30) (aged 69)
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Anatomist, neuropathologist

Education and career

Auerbach studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Berlin and the Leipzig.[1] He became a physician in 1849, obtained his habilitation in 1863. From 1872 he was an associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Breslau.[2]

Discoveries

Auerbach was among the first physicians to diagnose the nervous system using histological staining methods. He published a number of papers on neuropathological problems and muscle-related disorders.

He is credited with the discovery of Plexus myentericus Auerbachi, or Auerbach's plexus, a layer of ganglion cells that provide control of movements of the gastro-intestinal tract, also known as the "myenteric plexus".

"Friedreich–Auerbach disease" is named after Auerbach and pathologist Nikolaus Friedreich (1825–1882). It is a rare disease characterized by hemi-hypertrophy of the facial features, tongue, and tonsils.[3]

Family

Auerbach died in Breslau. His son Felix Auerbach was a renowned physicist, while his son Friedrich Auerbach was a chemist. Friedrich’s daughter Charlotte Auerbach was a geneticist.

Bibliography
  • Ueber Percussion der Muskeln; in: Zeitschrift für rationelle Medizin, Leipzig and Heidelberg 1862.
  • Bau der Blut- und Lymph-Capillaren; in: Centralblatt für die medicinischen Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1865.
  • Lymphgefässe des Darms; in: [Virchows] Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1865. volume 33.
  • Wahre Muskelhypertrophie; in: [Virchows] Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1871, volume 53.[4]
  • Leopold Auerbach (1923). Organologische Studien. Zur Charakteristik und Lebensgeschichte der Zellkerne, Volumes 1–2. Nabu Press. p. 296. ISBN 1294240250.

See also

Sources
  1. "Auerbach Leopold | Virtual Shtetl". sztetl.org.pl. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  2. Ellis, Harold; Mahadevan, Vishy (2018-08-29). Clinical Anatomy: Applied Anatomy for Students and Junior Doctors. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-32552-9.
  3. Friedreich-Auerbach disease @ Who Named It
  4. Leopold Auerbach – bibliography at Who Named It
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