Alfred Kohn (22 February 1867 – 15 January 1959) headed the Institute of Histology at the Medical Faculty of
German University in Prague
)
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, established =
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, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
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, students = 51,438
, undergr ...
for 26 years.
[Nanka O, Grim M. Alfred Kohn, profesor histologie na Nĕmecké Univerzitĕ v Praze lfred Kohn, professor of histology at German University in Prague Cas Lek Cesk. 2008;147(4):240-4. Czech. PMID 18578380.] He discovered the nature and origin of
parathyroid
Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes par ...
glands and pioneered research on
chromaffin cells
Chromaffin cells, also called pheochromocytes (or phaeochromocytes), are neuroendocrine cells found mostly in the medulla of the adrenal glands in mammals. These cells serve a variety of functions such as serving as a response to stress, monitori ...
and sympathetic paraganglia. Kohn's papers covered topics including the pituitary, interstitial cells of testes, and ovaries, all of which relate to
endocrinology
Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...
. All of his studies were based on descriptive and comparative histological and embryological observations.
Kohn was twice the dean of
German Medical Faculty, and an honorary member of many scientific societies. He was repeatedly nominated for Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.
Due to his Jewish origin, he was expelled from Deutsche Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften und Künste für die Tschechoslowakische Republik in 1939 and transported to Terezin (
Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...
) ghetto in 1943. After World War II, he lived in Prague.
On his 90th birthday, he was elected honorary president of Anatomische Gesellschaft and awarded by the Czechoslovak Order of Labour. Alfred Kohn died in 1959.
References
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*Nanka, O., & Grim, M. (2008). Alfred Kohn, profesor histologie na Nĕmecké Univerzitĕ v Praz
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[Alfred Kohn, professor of histology at German University in Prague
/nowiki> ''Casopis lekaru ceskych'', ''147''(4), 240–244.
Histologists
19th-century Czech scientists
1867 births
1959 deaths
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