Karl Friedrich Theodor Krause (15 December 1797 – 8 June 1868) was a German

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 it ...

born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1818 he received his medical doctorate from the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, and later attained the chair of anatomy at the surgical school in Hanover. His son Wilhelm Krause (1833–1910) was also an anatomist. Krause was one of the first anatomists to make extensive use of the

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...

. He was the first physician to describe the transverse perineal ligament, sometimes referred to as "Krause's ligament". He also described the accessory tear glands of the eye. These glands are found under the

eyelid An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. The human eye ...

s where the lower and upper

conjunctiva The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with goblet cells, stratified columnar epithelium ...

meet, and are sometimes known as "

Krause's glands Krause's glands or Krause glands are small, mucous accessory lacrimal glands that are found underneath the eyelid where the upper and lower conjunctivae meet. Their ducts unite into a rather long sinus which open into the fornix conjunctiva. There ...

References

Ophthalmology Hall of Fame
(biography and photo) 1797 births 1868 deaths German anatomists Physicians from Hanover People from the Electorate of Hanover {{Germany-med-bio-stub