Karl Joseph Eberth (21 September 1835 – 2 December 1926) was a German

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, 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 us ...

and

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

who was a native of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

Biography

In 1859 he earned his doctorate at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

, and became an assistant to

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 ...

Albert von Kölliker (1817–1905). In 1869 he became a full professor of pathological anatomy at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

, and from 1881 until his retirement in 1911, he was a professor at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. In 1880 Eberth described a

bacillus ''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum ''Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural ''Bacilli ...

that he suspected was the cause of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. In 1884 pathologist

Georg Theodor August Gaffky Georg Theodor August Gaffky (17 February 1850 – 23 September 1918) was a Hanover-born bacteriologist best known for identifying bacillus salmonella typhi as the cause of typhoid disease in 1884. Early life and career Gaffky's parents were the ...

(1850–1918) confirmed Eberth's findings, and the organism was given names such as "Eberthella typhi", "Eberth's bacillus" and "Gaffky-Eberth bacillus". Today the bacillus that causes

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

goes by the scientific name of ''Salmonella enterica'' subspecies ''enterica'' serovar Typhi.

Associated eponyms

* "Eberth's lines": Microscopic lines that appear between the cells of the

myocardium Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that ...

when stained with

silver nitrate Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called ''lunar caustic' ...

. * "Eberth's perithelium": an incomplete layer of connective tissue cells encasing the blood

capillaries A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...

Selected works

* ''Untersuchungen über nematoden'', (Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 1863). * ''Zur Kenntnis der Bacteritischen Mykosen'', (Leipzig : Engelmann, 1872). * ''Zur kenntniss der blutplättchen bei den niederen wirbelthieren'', (Leipzig, Engelmann, 1887). * ''Die Thrombose nach Versuchen und Leichenbefunden'', with

Curt Schimmelbusch Curt Theodor Schimmelbusch (16 November 1860 – 2 August 1895) was a German physician and pathologist who invented the Schimmelbusch mask, for the safe delivery of anaesthetics to surgical patients. He was also a key figure in the development of ...

, (Stuttgart, 1888). * ''Die männlichen Geschlechtsorgane'', (Jena, Fischer, 1904).The Online Books Page
published works

References

''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.'' 1835 births 1926 deaths German pathologists Academic staff of the University of Halle Academic staff of the University of Zurich Physicians from Würzburg German bacteriologists Typhoid fever {{Germany-med-bio-stub

Biography

Associated eponyms

Selected works

See also

References