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Josias Weitbrecht (russian: Иосия Вейтбрехт, born 6 November 1702 in Schorndorf, died 28 February 1747 in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
professor of
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
and
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 i ...
in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
.


Life and career

After his studies at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...
initially Josias Weitbrecht acquired the academic degree for a magister of
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
. By the medium of Dr Duvernoy in the year 1721 he came to the University of St. Petersburg, where he studied medicine, physiology and anatomy, his main subject, which he taught students from the academic grammar school, associated with the
Russian Academy of Science The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
. This academy accepted him as a member in 1725. Later, on 22 January 1730, he was appointed ordinary professor of
physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...
at this university, but in 1743 he underwent the danger to be released despite best credentials due to the expiry of his agreement but until 1746 he could remain in his position with a freelance contract. Finally due to an intervention of the count Alexei Grigorevich Razumovsky his employment contract could be renewed and Weitbrecht was appointed
Full Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of anatomy in January 1747. Shortly after having restarted officially his work he suddenly died due to the takings resulting from the above mentioned uncertain situation. In his time Josias Weitbrecht was considered one of the most important anatomists. He described first and foremost the construction and function of the
intervertebral disc An intervertebral disc (or intervertebral fibrocartilage) lies between adjacent vertebrae in the vertebral column. Each disc forms a fibrocartilaginous joint (a symphysis), to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, to act as a ligament to h ...
. Some special
foramina In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (;Entry "foramen"
in
,
ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal l ...
s,
cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck ...
s and
fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
s were named after him. Furthermore in winter 1738 he recalibrated the Delisle thermometers, which usually had 2400 graduations, to a new
Delisle scale The Delisle scale is a temperature scale invented in 1732 by the French astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle (1688–1768). Delisle was the author of ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire et aux progrès de l'Astronomie, de la Géographie et de la ...
with 0 degrees as the
boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding env ...
and 150 degrees as the
freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depend ...
of water. The Delisle thermometer remained in use for almost 100 years in Russia. Altogether 21 articles, where he described his researches, are the basis of new cognitions and he used an excellent style of the Latin language. Josias Weitbrecht married Katharina Sophia Duran from
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 a ...
, and with her had two sons and two daughters.


Works (optional)

*''Syndesmologia sive historia ligamentorum corporis humani quam secundum observationes anatomicas concinnavit et figuris ad objecta recentia adumbratis illustravit''. Typographia academiae scientiarum, Petropoli (Petersburg) 1742; in
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...


auch als Mikrofiche-Ausgabe. * ''Syndesmology; or, A description of the ligaments of the human body, arranged in accordance with anatomical dissections and illustrated with figures drawn from fresh subjects''. Translated by Emanuel B. Kaplan in
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...


*''Josias Weitbrechts, ... Syndesmologie. Oder die Beschreibung der Bänder des menschlichen Körpers, in einen vollständigen Auszug gebracht, und mit allen dazu gehörigen Figuren versehen''. König, Straßburg 1779 *''Desmographie ou description des ligamens du corps humain''. Durand, Paris 1752; in
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...



Sources

*
August Hirsch August Hirsch (4 October 1817, Danzig – 28 January 1894, Berlin) was a German physician and medical historian. Biography He practiced in Danzig after studying at Berlin and Leipzig. In recognition of his studies on malarial fever and hi ...
; additioned by Wilhelm Haberling, Franz Hübotter, Hermann Vierordt: ''Biographisches Lexikon der hervorragenden Ärzte aller Zeiten und Völker''. 2nd Edition, part 5, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin und Wien 1934. * * Josias Weitbrecht in
Johann Heinrich Zedler Johann Heinrich Zedler (7 January 1706 in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) – 21 March 1751 in Leipzig) was a bookseller and publisher. His most important achievement was the creation of a German encyclopedia, the '' Grosses Universal-Lexicon (Gre ...
s:
Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon The ''Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste'' ( en, Great Complete Encyclopedia of All Sciences and Arts, , italic=yes) is a 68-volume German encyclopedia published by Johann Heinrich Zedler between 1731 and 1 ...
aller Wissenschafften und Künste, Seite 748

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weitbrecht, Josias 1702 births 1747 deaths People from Schorndorf 18th-century German physicians German medical historians Saint Petersburg State University faculty Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers