Leonard Landois (1 December 1837 – 17 November 1902) was a German

physiologist 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 chemical a ...

born in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

, and was later a professor and director of the institute of physiology at

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

. In 1866 he became a member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

. He was a younger brother to

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Hermann Landois Hermann Landois (19 April 1835, Münster – 29 January 1905) was a German zoologist. He was the brother of physiologist Leonard Landois (1837–1902). He belonged to the Catholic popularizers of science who gained attraction in late ninet ...

(1835–1905) and son-in-law to

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Theodor Marsson (1816–1892). His earlier work involved research in the field of

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

, conducting studies of

bed bug Bed bugs are insects from the genus ''Cimex'' that feed on blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. Bed bug bites may lead to skin changes ...

dog flea The dog flea (''Ctenocephalides canis'') is a species of flea that lives as an ectoparasite on a wide variety of mammals, particularly the domestic dog and cat. It closely resembles the cat flea, ''Ctenocephalides felis'', which can live on a w ...

s and the parasitic worm '' Botriocephalus latus''. He also conducted studies on the

ossification Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes resulting in t ...

processes that take place in

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 an ...

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

s and

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...

. With this instructor,

Ludwig Julius Budge Ludwig Julius Budge (11 September 1811, in Wetzlar – 14 July 1888, in Greifswald) was a German physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physi ...

(1811-1888), he investigated the phenomena of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

during electrical stimulation of the

vagus nerve The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, cranial nerve X, or simply CN X, is a cranial nerve that interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. It comprises two nerves—the left and right ...

. Leonard Landois was a pioneer in the study of

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

s and the phenomena of

agglutination In linguistics, agglutination is a morphological process in which words are formed by stringing together morphemes, each of which corresponds to a single syntactic feature. Languages that use agglutination widely are called agglutinative lang ...

. In 1875, he demonstrated that when

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

s are taken from one species of animal and are mixed with serum taken from an animal of a different species, the red cells typically clump and sometimes burst ( hemolyze).

Selected writings

* ''Über der Haarbalgparasiten des Menschen'' (treatise on parasites of humans); (1861) * ''Anatomische Untersuchungen über den Bau der Araneiden''. In: Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medizin, Jg. 1868, S. 240-255; with

Reinhold Wilhelm Buchholz Reinhold Wilhelm Buchholz (2 October 1837, Frankfurt an der Oder – 17 April 1876) was a German zoologist who made contributions in the fields of herpetology, carcinology and ichthyology. He studied medicine at the University of Königsber ...

. (Anatomical studies on the construction of

orb-weaver spider Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

s).Anatomische Untersuchungen über den Bau der Araneiden
HathiTrust Digital Library * ''Die Transfusion des Blutes'' (On blood transfusion); (1875) * ''Lehrbuch der Physiologie des Menschen'' (Textbook of

human physiology The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a head ...

); (1880
Digital 4th edition from 1885
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of th ...

* ''Die Urämie'' (treatise on

uremia Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be nor ...

); (1890)

References

Landois, Leonard
In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Band 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, , pp. 506–7. * German physiologists University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald 1837 births 1902 deaths People from Münster {{Germany-med-bio-stub