Max Israel Bielschowsky (20 February 1869 – 15 August 1940) was a German neuropathologist born in Breslau. After receiving his medical doctorate from the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

in 1893, he worked with Ludwig Edinger (1855–1918) at the Senckenberg Pathology Institute in Frankfurt-am-Main. At Senckenberg he learned

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 techniques from Carl Weigert (1845–1904). From 1896 to 1904 he worked in Emanuel Mendel's (1839–1907) psychiatric laboratory in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1904 he joined

Oskar Vogt Oskar Vogt (6 April 1870, in Husum – 30 July 1959, in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German physician and neurologist. He and his wife Cécile Vogt-Mugnier are known for their extensive cytoarchetectonic studies on the brain. Personal life He w ...

(1870–1959) at the

neurobiological Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

laboratory at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

, where he remained until 1933. Later in his career he worked at the psychiatric clinic at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, and at the

Cajal Institute The Cajal Institute (IC) is a research center in neurobiology which belongs to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The IC originates from the ''Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas'', founded in 1900 by order of King Alfonso XII ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. He emigrated to the UK, where he died on 15 August 1940 in the Greater London area at 71 years of age. His oldest son, Franz David Bielschowsky, also emigrated to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, UK and subsequently to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand where he pursued an eminent career in cancer research. A cousin of Max Bielschowsky, Albert Bielschowsky (1847–1902), was a biographer of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

. Bielschowsky made important contributions in his research of tuberous sclerosis, amaurotic idiocy, paralysis agitans, Huntington’s chorea and

myotonia congenita Myotonia congenita is a congenital neuromuscular channelopathy that affects skeletal muscles (muscles used for movement). It is a genetic disorder. The hallmark of the disease is the failure of initiated contraction to terminate, often referred t ...

. He is remembered for his

histopathological Histopathology (compound of three Greek words: ''histos'' "tissue", πάθος ''pathos'' "suffering", and -λογία ''-logia'' "study of") refers to the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of disease. Spec ...

work with disseminated sclerosis, the use of an histological

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

stain for impregnation of nerve fibers, and with Stanley Cobb, the development of intravital silver staining. The eponymous "Bielschowsky silver stain" technique was an improvement on the method developed by Ramon y Cajal (1852–1934).

Selected written works

* ''Die Silberimprägnation der Achsencylinder''; Neurologisches Zentralblatt, Leipzig, 1902, 21: 579–84. Neurologisches Zentralblatt, Leipzig, 1903, 22: 997–1006; (Bielschowsky stains). * ''Allgemeine Histologie und Histopathologie des Nervensystems''. In: Max Lewandowsky (publisher), Handbuch der Neurologie. Volume 1, Berlin, 1910. * ''Herpes Zoster''. In: Max Lewandowsky (publisher): Handbuch der Neurologie. Volume 5, Berlin, 1910. * ''Über spätinfantile familiäre amaurotische Idiotie mit Kleinhirnsymptomen''. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Nervenheilkunde, 1914, 50: 7–29. (Bielschowsky’s amaurotic idiocy).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielschowsky, Max 1869 births 1940 deaths German pathologists Polish pathologists German histologists Physicians from Wrocław Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People from the Province of Silesia

Selected written works

See also

References