August Rauber (March 9, 1841 – February 16, 1917) was a German

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 ...

and embryologist born in Obermoschel in the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. Rauber was born the fourth of five children to Stephan Rauber and Rosalie née Oberlé. He studied medicine in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, obtaining his doctorate in 1865. At Munich his instructors included Theodor Bischoff (1807–1882), Nicolaus Rüdinger (1832–1896) and

Julius Kollmann Julius Kollmann (24 February 1834, Holzheim am Forst – 24 June 1918, Basel) was a German anatomist, zoologist and anthropologist. He studied at the universities of Munich and Berlin, then furthered his education in London and Paris. In 18 ...

(1834–1918).Drw.saw-leipzig.de
(biography)

Career

In 1869 he obtained his habilitation, and in 1872 worked as a dissector at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

. Shortly afterwards, he relocated to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he worked under Wilhelm His (1831–1904). From 1873 to 1886 he was an associate professor of anatomy and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

at Leipzig. In 1886, he became a professor of anatomy and head of the anatomical institute at the

University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. He worked as a professor in Tartu (Dorpat) for 25 years and also started the anatomy collection of the University of Tartu. In his studies involving the embryonic development of birds and mammals, Rauber is credited with combining comparative

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos ...

and

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vi ...

with

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis. The eponymous "Rauber's layer" bears his name, being defined as a

trophoblast The trophoblast (from Greek : to feed; and : germinator) is the outer layer of cells of the blastocyst. Trophoblasts are present four days after fertilization in humans. They provide nutrients to the embryo and develop into a large part of the p ...

ic membrane over the

embryonic disk The bilaminar embryonic disc, bilaminar blastoderm or embryonic disc is the two-layered structure of epiblast and hypoblast, differentiated from the inner cell mass also known as the embryoblast. These two layers of cells lie between two cavi ...

in developing animals. He is buried to the New St. John's Cemetery in Tartu.

Partial list of publications

* ''Vater'sche Körperchen der Bänder- und Periostnerven und ihre Beziehung zum sog. Muskelsinne'' (1865). * ''Untersuchungen über das Vorkommen und die Bedeutung der Vaterschen Körperchen'' (1867). * ''Elasticität und Festigkeit der Knochen'', 1876 - Elasticity and strength of bones. * ''Über den Ursprung der Milch und die Ernährung der Frucht im Allgemeinen'' (1879). * ''Urgeschichte der Menschen'', (two volumes) 1884 - Prehistory of man. * ''Homo sapiens ferus'' (1885) -

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

ferus. * ''Oder die Zustände der Verwilderten und ihre Bedeutung für Wissenschaft, Politik und Schule (1885). * ''Über die Bedeutung der wissenschaftlichen Anatomie'', 1886 - On the importance of scientific anatomy. * ''Atlas der Krystallregeneration'' (four volumes), 1896/97 - Atlas of "crystal regeneration". * ''Die Aufgaben des Lebens'' (1896). * ''Lehrbuch der Anatomie des Menschen'' (two volumes) - Textbook of human anatomy - (5th edition 1897/98), continued by

Friedrich Wilhelm Kopsch Friedrich Wilhelm Theodor Kopsch (4 March 1868 in Saarbrücken - 24 January 1955 in Berlin) was a German anatomist born in Saarbrücken. Life He studied under Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer (1836-1921) at the University of Berlin, obtaining his medi ...

(1868-1955).Google Books
Rauber-Kopsch Lehrbuch und Atlas der Anatomie des Menschen: Eingewiede Nervensystem Sinnersorgane

Bibliography

* Maie Toomsalu, ''The Legend is Alive: August Antonius Rauber, Professor of Anatomy'', University of Tartu, Tartu 2020, pp. 183

References

External links

*
Translated biography and list of publications
@ Pagel: Biographical Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Rauber, August 1841 births 1917 deaths People from Donnersbergkreis German anatomists German embryologists Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of Leipzig University People from the Palatinate (region)