Anders Adolph Retzius (13 October 1796 – 18 April 1860), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

professor of

anatomy 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 its ...

and a supervisor at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

in Stockholm.

Biography

Retzius was born in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

, Sweden, in 1796. He enrolled at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, until he in 1818 became a licensed

doctor of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

. Through his friendship with

Jöns Jakob Berzelius Jöns is a Swedish given name and a surname. Notable people with the given name include: * Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779–1848), Swedish chemist * Jöns Budde (1435–1495), Franciscan friar from the Brigittine monastery in NaantaliVallis Grati ...

, as early as 1824 he was appointed temporary professor of anatomy at the

, an institute to which he dedicated much of his strength for many years. In 1830 he was also appointed temporary supervisor there, and in 1840 he was appointed both permanent professor and supervisor. Pathologist

Axel Key Ernst Axel Henrik Key (25 October 1832 – 27 December 1901) was a Swedish pathologist, member of parliament, writer and rector at Karolinska Institute. Biography Upbringing and education Key was born in 1832 in Johannisberg in Flisby sock ...

was one of his students. During the next decades he made many anatomical discoveries, for instance about the finer parts of the teeth, of the skull, of the muscles and of the nervous system. He was also an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, whose studies of the human cranium led to the classifications

dolichocephalic Dolichocephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek δολιχός 'long' and κεφαλή 'head') is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected, relative to its width. In humans, scaphocephaly is a form of dolichocephaly. Dolichoce ...

and

brachycephalic Brachycephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek '' βραχύς'', 'short' and '' κεφαλή'', 'head') is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, ...

. He was considered to be very knowledgeable and was elected into many of the scientific academies at the time. He is credited with defining the cephalic index, which is the ratio of width to length of one's head. Retzius was a

polygenist Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins (''polygenesis''). This view is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity. Modern scientific views no ...

. Retzius studied many different skull types from different races; because the skulls were so different from each race, he believed that the races had a separate origin. The

retropubic space Retropubic space is a potential avascular space located between the pubic symphysis and the urinary bladder. The retropubic space is a preperitoneal space, located behind the transversalis fascia and in front of peritoneum . Other names for the ...

of Retzius is named after him. The

peritoneum The peritoneum is the serous membrane forming the lining of the abdominal cavity or coelom in amniotes and some invertebrates, such as annelids. It covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs, and is composed of a layer of mesoth ...

lies deep to the posterior layer of

transversalis fascia The transversalis fascia (or transverse fascia) is a thin aponeurotic membrane of the abdomen. It lies between the inner surface of the transverse abdominal muscle and the parietal peritoneum. It forms part of the general layer of fascia lining ...

and is very adherent to it. Distally, this close contact remains in the area lateral to the epigastrics. Medially, however, the peritoneum reflects on the roof of the

bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters ...

and runs sharply dorsally, away from the deep layer of transversalis fascia. The separation of transversalis fascia and peritoneum contains loose fatty tissue allowing for the filling of the bladder. This space is called the retropubic space of Retzius (from the Clinic of Digestive Surgery, University Hospital St-Pierre, Brussels). Retzius was active in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

, engaging himself in the battle against the Swedish drinking habits – which at this time had a significant impact on Swedish society – with works on the harmful effects liquor has on the body. Along with , , Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Samuel Owen, George Scott, and others, he was one of the founders of Svenska Nykterhetssällskapet, the Swedish Temperance Society, in 1837. In 1826, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. The

Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG; sv, Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi) is a scientific learned society founded in December 1877. It was established after a rearrangement of various sections of the Anthropo ...

previously awarded the Anders Retzius Medal in Gold to world-leading scholars in

human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...

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 behavi ...

. In 2015, the Society decided that it was inappropriate to award a medal in Retzius's name considering his contributions to phrenology. He was the father of

Gustaf Retzius Prof Magnus Gustaf (or Gustav) Retzius FRSFor HFRSE MSA (17 October 1842 – 21 July 1919) was a Swedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching the histology of the sense organs and nervous system. Life ...

. Retzius died in Stockholm in 1860.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Retzius, Anders 1796 births 1860 deaths People from Lund Swedish anatomists Swedish anthropologists Swedish biologists Swedish scientists People connected to Lund University Karolinska Institute faculty Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala

Biography

See also

References