Johann Alexander Ecker (10 July 1816 – 20 May 1887) was a German
anthropologist and
anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
, born in
Freiburg im Breisgau. He was the son of Johann Matthias Alexander Ecker (1766–1829), a professor at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...
.
Biography
He studied medicine at the University of Freiburg as a pupil of
Karl Heinrich Baumgärtner. He received his medical doctorate at Freiburg in 1837. In 1840 he started work as a
prosector
A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and p ...
at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, where during the following year, he became a
privat-docent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
. At Heidelberg, his influences included
Friedrich Tiedemann
Friedrich Tiedemann Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE (23 August 178122 January 1861) was a German anatomist and physiologist. He was an expert on the anatomy of the brain.
Tiedemann spent most of his life as professor of anatomy and physi ...
,
Friedrich August Benjamin Puchelt,
Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff
Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm von Bischoff (28 October 1807 in Hannover – 5 December 1882 in Munich) was a German physician and biologist.
Biography
He lectured on pathological anatomy at Heidelberg (1835-1843) and held professorships in anatomy and ...
and
Maximilian Joseph von Chelius
Maximilian Joseph von Chelius (16 January 1794 – 17 August 1876) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist born in Mannheim.
Chelius received his medical doctorate in 1812 at the University of Heidelberg, and afterwards worked as both a civilia ...
. In 1844 he became a full professor at
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, later returning to Freiburg as a professor of
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
and
comparative anatomy (1850). In 1870 he was co-founder of the ''Akademische Gesellschaft''.
As an anthropologist, Ecker conducted excavations of early burial sites in the
Kaiserstuhl region of southwestern Germany. At the University of Freiburg, he created a museum of anthropology and
ethnography (
Museum für Urgeschichte und Ethnographie). With
prehistorian
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder (1809–1893), he founded the first German journal of anthropology, the ''Archiv für Anthropologie''.
Ecker conducted anatomical studies of the brain, being known for his investigations of
cerebral convolutions in the
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...
. His name is associated with "Ecker's fissure", also known as the
petro-occipital fissure
This grooved surface of the foramen magnum is separated on either side from the petrous portion of the temporal bone by the petro-occipital fissure, which is occupied in the fresh state by a plate of cartilage; the fissure is continuous behind wit ...
.
He died in Freiburg im Breisgau.
In Freiburg, a thoroughfare known as the ''Eckerstraße'' was named in his honor until 2017, when it was renamed
Ernst-Zermelo-Straße.
Selected works
* ''Physiologische Untersuchungen über die Bewegungen des Gehirns und Rückenmarks''.
Stuttgart, 1843 – Physiological studies relating to movements of the brain and
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...
.
* ''Icones physiologicae. Erläuterungstafeln zur Physiologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte''.
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, Voss, 1851–1859 – Physiological icons : Explanatory panels on physiology and evolution.
* ''Crania Germaniae meridionais occidentalis : Beschreibung und Abbildung von Schädeln früherer und heutiger Bewohner des südwestlichen Deutschlands und insbesondere des Grossherzogthums Baden''. Freiburg im Breisgau : Wagner 1865 – "Crania Germaniae Meridionais occidentalis": Description and illustration of skulls of previous and modern inhabitants of southern Germany, in particular, within the
Grand Duchy of Baden.
* ''Die Hirnwindungen des Menschen nach eigenen Untersuchungen, insbesondere über die Entwicklung derselben beim Fötus und mit Rücksicht auf das Bedürfniss der Ärzte dargestellt. Braunschweig'', 1869; second edition, 1883 – Cerebral convolutions of humans, in particular, in regards to the development of the fetus, etc.
* ''Lorenz Oken, eine biographische Skizze''. Stuttgart, 1869. English 1883 – Biographical sketch of
Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken (1 August 1779 – 11 August 1851) was a German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist.
Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss (german: Okenfuß) in Bohlsbach (now part of Offenburg), Ortenau, Baden, and studied natural history ...
.
Alexander Ecker - bibliography
at Who Named It
''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...
References
External links
*
1816 births
1887 deaths
German embryologists
German anatomists
German anthropologists
Physicians from Freiburg im Breisgau
Academic staff of the University of Basel
University of Freiburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Freiburg
{{Germany-scientist-stub