Augustin Friedrich Walther (26 October 1688 – 12 October 1746) was a German anatomist,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and physician who was a native of Wittenberg. He was the son of theologian Michael Walther the Younger (1638–1692). In 1712 he earned his degree of philosophy from the University of Wittenberg, and in the following year received his medical doctorate from the University of Leipzig. At Leipzig he became a professor of anatomy (1728), pathology (1732) and therapy (1737). In 1730 he became director of the Leipzig Botanical Gardens, and in 1737 was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at the university. Among his numerous writings was a 1735 botanical treatise called ''Designatio plantarum quas hortus AF Waltheri complectitur'', in which he provides descriptions of thousands of plant species from his private botanical garden. As a physician he made contributions in the fields of

myology Myology is the study of the muscular system, including the study of the structure, function and diseases of muscle. The muscular system consists of skeletal muscle, which contracts to move or position parts of the body (e.g., the bones that articula ...

and angiology, and has several medical and anatomical terms named after him, including: * "Walther's dilator": An instrument used for dilation of the female urethra. * "Walther's ducts": Also known as minor

sublingual duct The excretory ducts of the sublingual gland are from eight to twenty in number. Of the smaller sublingual ducts (ducts of Rivinus), some join the submandibular duct; others open separately into the mouth, on the elevated crest of mucous membrane (p ...

s. * "Walther's ganglion": Also known as the

coccygeal ganglion The pelvic portion of each sympathetic trunk is situated in front of the sacrum, medial to the anterior sacral foramina. It consists of four or five small sacral ganglia, connected together by interganglionic cords, and continuous above with the a ...

. * "Walther's plexus": Also known as the intracavernous plexus; which is the portion of the internal carotid plexus in the cavernous sinus. The plant genus ''

Waltheria ''Waltheria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is sometimes placed in Sterculiaceae. The name honours German botanist Augustin Friedrich Walther (1688–1746). Selected species *'' Waltheria calcicola'' Urb. � ...

'' from the family Sterculiaceae is named after him.

References

* This article incorporates translated text from an equivalent article at the

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, whose sources includ
ADB:Walther, Augustin Friedrich
at

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

.
Mondofacto Dictionary
(definition of eponyms)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Augustin Friedrich German anatomists 18th-century German botanists Scientists from Wittenberg Academic staff of Leipzig University Rectors of Leipzig University 1688 births 1746 deaths