Leopold Auerbach (27 April 1828 – 30 September 1897) 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 its ...

and

neuropathologist Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinic ...

born in Breslau.

Education and career

Auerbach studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and the

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 wel ...

. He became a physician in 1849, obtained his habilitation in 1863. From 1872 he was an associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Breslau.

Discoveries

Auerbach was among the first physicians to diagnose the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

using

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

staining Staining is a technique used to enhance contrast in samples, generally at the microscopic level. Stains and dyes are frequently used in histology (microscopic study of biological tissues), in cytology (microscopic study of cells), and in the ...

methods. He published a number of papers on neuropathological problems and muscle-related disorders. He is credited with the discovery of ''Plexus myentericus Auerbachi'', or Auerbach's plexus, a layer of

ganglion A ganglion is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system there are both sympatheti ...

cells that provide control of movements of the

gastro-intestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans ...

, also known as the "myenteric plexus". "Friedreich–Auerbach disease" is named after Auerbach and pathologist

Nikolaus Friedreich Nikolaus Friedreich (1 July 1825 in Würzburg – 6 July 1882 in Heidelberg) was a German pathologist and neurologist, and a third generation physician in the Friedreich family. His father was psychiatrist Johann Baptist Friedreich (1796–1862) ...

(1825-1882). It is a rare disease characterized by hemi-

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number.Updated by Linda J ...

of the facial features,

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...

, and

tonsils The tonsils are a set of lymphoid organs facing into the aerodigestive tract, which is known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring and consists of the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. These organs play an ...

Family

Auerbach died in Breslau. His son

Felix Auerbach Felix Auerbach (12 November 1856 – 26 February 1933) was a German physicist. Life Auerbach was born in Breslau (today Wrocław) on 12 November 1856. His father, Leopold Auerbach, was a respected physician and professor of medicine at the ...

was a renowned physicist.

Bibliography

* ''Ueber Percussion der Muskeln''; in: Zeitschrift für rationelle Medizin, Leipzig and Heidelberg 1862. * ''Bau der Blut- und Lymph-Capillaren''; in: Centralblatt für die medicinischen Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1865. * ''Lymphgefässe des Darms''; in: irchowsArchiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1865. volume 33. * ''Wahre Muskelhypertrophie''; in: irchowsArchiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1871, volume 53.Leopold Auerbach - bibliography
at

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 bibliograph ...

Sources

''Leopold Auerbach''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerbach, Leopold German anatomists German pathologists 1828 births 1897 deaths University of Breslau alumni University of Breslau faculty Auerbach family Physicians from Wrocław

Education and career

Discoveries

Family

Bibliography

See also

Sources