Felix Victor Birch-Hirschfeld (2 May 1842 – 19 November 1899) was a German

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

who was a native of Kluvensieck bei

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

Biography

In 1867 he received his medical doctorate from 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 studied under

Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich (4 August 1815, Sulz am Neckar – 25 September 1877, Leipzig) was a German physician, pioneer psychiatrist, and medical professor. He is known for his measurement of mean normal human body temperature of 37&nbs ...

(1815–1877) and

Ernst Leberecht Wagner Ernst Leberecht Wagner (12 March 1829 – 10 February 1888) was a German pathologist who was a native of Dehlitz, a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt. Education and Career He studied medicine in Leipzig under Karl Augu ...

(1828–1888). In 1870 he became a

prosector A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and p ...

at the city hospital in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, and in 1885 returned to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, where he succeeded

Julius Cohnheim Julius Friedrich Cohnheim (20 July 1839 – 15 August 1884) was a German-Jewish pathologist. Biography Cohnheim was born at Demmin, Pomerania. He studied at the universities of Würzburg, Marburg, Greifswald, and Berlin, receiving his doctora ...

(1839–1884) as chair of

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination o ...

. One of his better known assistants was pathologist

Christian Georg Schmorl Christian Georg Schmorl (2 May 1861 – 14 August 1932) was a German pathologist who was a native of Mügeln in the Kingdom of Saxony. He studied medicine at the University of Leipzig, where in 1892 he obtained his habilitation for forensic me ...

(1861–1932). Birch-Hirschfeld made important contributions in several facets of pathological medicine. He is known for his work in the field of

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

, with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

being the primary focus in regards to infectious diseases. In 1898 he described the unitary nature of

nephroblastoma Wilms' tumor or Wilms tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is a cancer of the kidneys that typically occurs in children, rarely in adults.; and occurs most commonly as a renal tumor in child patients. It is named after Max Wilms, the German surg ...

Associated eponym

* "Birch-Hirschfeld stain": A stain that was formerly used for demonstrating

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of 7–13 nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the huma ...

, and consisted of a mixture of Bismarck brown and

crystal violet Crystal violet or gentian violet, also known as methyl violet 10B or hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride, is a triarylmethane dye used as a histological stain and in Gram's method of classifying bacteria. Crystal violet has antibacterial, antif ...

Selected writings

* ''Lehrbuch der Pathologischen Anatomie'', (Textbook of pathological anatomy) Leipsig, 1877 * ''Die Entstehung der Gelbsucht neugeborener Kinder'', (The emergence of jaundice in newborn children); '' Virchow's Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin'', Berlin, LXXXVII. * ''The Skrophulose'', In:

Hugo Wilhelm von Ziemssen Hugo (Wilhelm) von Ziemssen (13 December 1829 – 21 January 1902) was a German physician, born in Greifswald. He studied medicine at the universities of Greifswald, Berlin, and Würzburg. In 1863 he was called to the University of Erlangen ...

's "Handbuch der speciellen Pathologie und Therapie". Volume XIII; second edition * ''Grundriss der Allgemeinen Pathologie'', (Outline of general pathology)

, 1892 * ''Über die Krankheiten der Leber und Milz'', (On diseases of the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

and

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

). In: Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt's "Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten". Volume IV,

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

, H. Laupp, (1877–1893).Who Named It
bibliography of Birch-Hirschfeld

References

''Felix Victor Birch-Hirschfeld''
@

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 bibliograp ...

1842 births 1899 deaths People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde German pathologists Members of the First Chamber of the Diet of the Kingdom of Saxony Academic staff of Leipzig University Leipzig University alumni {{Germany-med-bio-stub

Biography

Associated eponym

Selected writings

See also

References