Rudolf Jaffé (14 October 1885 – 13 March 1975) was a German physician and

pathologist Pathology is the study of the 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 used in t ...

.K. Brass: '' udolf Jaffé (10, 14, 1885 – 3, 13, 1975)'' In: ''Verhandlungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pathologie.'' Vol. 59, 1975, , pp. 634–640, .

Career

Born 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 ...

to a Jewish family, he was a son of the noted chemist and industrialist Benno Jaffé. He studied medicine in Berlin, Munich and Freiburg, and after graduating as a physician, he worked at the Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases in Hamburg (1909–1910) and as a

ship's doctor A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

. He became an assistant professor in

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

in Giessen in 1911 and joined the Senckenberg Institute of Pathology in Frankfurt in 1912, as an assistant of Bernhard Fischer-Wasels. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a military physician in Galicia and Romania and then became an army pathologist in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. During his military service he received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

second class. In 1919 he earned his Habilitation at the Goethe University Frankfurt and was appointed as an associate professor. He became director of the Pathological-Bacteriological Institute in Berlin-Moabit in 1926, a position he held until he was forced to retire by the Nazis in 1934. In 1936 he emigrated to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, where he became the founding director of the Institute of Pathology at the Vargas Hospital in Caracas, which he based on the German model. After the Second World War, he resumed his contact with Germany and had extensive cooperation with German scientists, and was a regular contributor to the activities of the German Society for Pathology. He retired in 1953. Prior to 1934, his research notably focused on

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids includ ...

s in the

endocrine gland Endocrine glands are ductless glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood. The major glands of the endocrine system include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, ...

. In Venezuela he focused on infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis and syphilis. He died in Caracas. He received the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

in 1954. There is also a memorial plaque outside the Moabit Hospital in Berlin.

Selected publications

* ''Leitfaden der pathologischen Anatomie für Zahnärzte und Studierende der Zahnheilkunde'', Berlin 1923 * '' Pathologie der oberen Luft- und Speisewege'', Leipzig 1929 (ed., with Felix Blumenfeld) * ''Was lehrt uns die Bilharzia-Zirrhose in bezug auf die Probleme der Leber-Zirrhose?'' In: '' Schweizerische Medizinische Wochschrift'', 23, 1942, pp. 1149–1154 * ''Die anatomischen Veränderungen bei Syphilis in Venezuela''. In: ''Schweizerische Medizinische Wochschrift'', 79, 1949, pp. 33–38

Literature

* Georg Dhom: ''Geschichte der Histopathologie'', Springer, 2001, * ''Jaffé, Rudolf'' in ''Reichshandbuch der deutschen Gesellschaft - Das Handbuch der Persönlichkeiten in Wort und Bild.'' Vol. 1, p. 837, Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930 * Werner Röder; Herbert A. Strauss (ed.): ''International Biographical Dictionary of Central European Emigrés 1933-1945''. Vol 2,1. München : Saur, 1983 , p. 562

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Rudolf German pathologists Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Scientists from Berlin Scientists from Frankfurt 1885 births 1975 deaths German emigrants to Venezuela