Christoph Theodor Aeby (25 February 1835 – 7 July 1885) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 its ...

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 ...

, and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. His main scientific interest comparative anatomy and his studies were said to be facilitated by a large collection of bones, which he assembled in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. He is particularly noted for his work on the bronchial tree, which was published as a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

in 1880. Through his work, a term in anthropology was named after him - the "Aeby's plane", which pertains to the plane through the nasion and brasion.

Biography

Aeby was born in

Phalsbourg Phalsbourg (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Phalsburch'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, with a population of about 5,000. It lies high on the west slopes of the Vosges, northwest of Strasbourg by rail. I ...

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was the son of a farmer who owned a large tract of land in Alsace. He studied medicine 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 ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

. In 1863 he was named a professor of anatomy at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

(1866/67, academic rector), and in 1884 at the University of Prague as successor to

Carl Toldt Carl Toldt, sometimes Karl Toldt (May 3, 1840 – November 13, 1920), was an Austrian anatomist who was a native of Bruneck, South Tyrol. In 1864 he earned his medical doctorate in Vienna, and was later a professor of anatomy in Prague and Vi ...

.Christoph Theodor Aeby
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 bibliograph ...

Some of his noted students include the surgeons

Stefania Berlinerblau Stefania Berlinerblau or Fanny Berlin (1852September 4, 1921) was an American anatomist and physician. She is noted for her investigations on blood circulation, which led to the demonstration of the artery-vein connections. She is also considere ...

and

César Roux César Roux (23 March 1857, in Mont-la-Ville – 21 December 1934, in Lausanne) was a Swiss surgeon, who described the Roux-en-Y procedure. He studied medicine at the University of Bern, where his influences included Christoph Theodor Aeby a ...

. He died in Bilin,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

at the age of 50.

Works

He is best known for his contributions to anthropology, which include a new and valuable

craniometric Craniometry is measurement of the cranium (the main part of the skull), usually the human cranium. It is a subset of cephalometry, measurement of the head, which in humans is a subset of anthropometry, measurement of the human body. It is disti ...

method. He performed research of

microcephaly Microcephaly (from New Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it ...

, publishing ''Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Mikrocephalie'' (1874) as a result.Aeby, Christoph Theodor
Deutsche Biographie He also demonstrated the influence of

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

on the several joints of the human body, and conducted significant studies involving the

upper respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa. Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...

. In 1878, Aeby is also credited for describing the ''muscle rectus labi proprius''. A mountain climber, he was co-author of ''Das Hochgebirge von Grindelwald'' (The high mountains of

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Berne. In addition ...

, 1865).

Associated eponyms

* "Aeby's muscle": The

depressor labii inferioris muscle The depressor labii inferioris (or quadratus labii inferioris) is a facial muscle. It helps to lower the bottom lip. Structure The depressor labii inferioris muscle arises from the lateral surface of the mandible. This is below the mental foram ...

. * "Aeby's plane": A

plane. It passes through the

nasion The nasion () is the most anterior point of the frontonasal suture that joins the nasal part of the frontal bone and the nasal bones. It marks the midpoint at the intersection of the frontonasal suture with the internasal suture joining the nasa ...

and

basion The foramen magnum ( la, great hole) is a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull. The spinal cord, an extension of the medulla oblon ...

perpendicular to the

median plane The median plane also called a mid-sagittal plane is used to describe the sagittal plane as it bisects the body vertically through the midline marked by the navel, dividing the body exactly in left and right side. The term parasagittal plane is u ...

of the cranium.

Selected works

* '' Eine neue Methode zur bestimmung der Schädelform von Menschen und Säugethieren'', 1862 – A new method for determining the shape of the skull in humans and mammals * ''Die Schädelformen des Menschen und der Affen : eine morphologische Studie'', 1867 – The skull shapes of humans and monkeys: a morphological study. * ''Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Mikrocephalie'', 1874 – Contribution to the knowledge of

. * ''Schema des Faserverlaufes im menschlichen Gehirn und Rückenmark'', 1884 – Schema involving the fiber path in the human 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 spi ...

. * ''Der Bronchialbaum der Säugethiere und des Menschen : nebst Bemerkungen über den Bronchialbaum der Vögel und Reptilien'', 1880 – The

bronchial A bronchus is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi pronounced (BRAN-KAI) to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus. ...

tract of mammals and humans.OCLC WorldCat
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeby 1835 births 1885 deaths People from Phalsbourg Swiss anatomists Swiss anthropologists University of Bern faculty Charles University faculty