Theodor Kerckring or Dirk Kerckring (sometimes Kerckeringh or Kerckerinck) (baptized 22 July 1638 – 2 November 1693) was a Dutch

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 it ...

and chemical physician. Kerckring was born as the son of the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

merchant and VOC captain Dirck Kerckring and Margaretha Bas (daughter of Dirck Bas, a former mayor of Amsterdam). In the second half of the 1650s he was a pupil at the Latin School in Amsterdam of

Franciscus van den Enden Franciscus van den Enden, in later life also known as 'Affinius' (Latinized form of 'Van den Enden') ( – 27 November 1674) was a Flemish Jesuit, Neo-Latin poet, physician, art dealer, philosopher, and plotter against Louis XIV of France. Born i ...

(at the same time as the philosopher

Benedictus de Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, ...

), before studying medicine at Leiden University under

Franciscus Sylvius Franciscus Sylvius (15 March 1614 – 19 November 1672), born Franz de le Boë, was a Dutch physician and scientist (chemist, physiologist and anatomist) who was an early champion of Descartes', Van Helmont's and William Harvey's work and ...

. Around 1660 he was painted by Jurgen Ovens. In 1667 he was visited by

Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...

, interested in new developments in science and curious to see his collection of anatomical objects. Several sources reveal that Kerckring remained on good terms with Van den Enden, whose daughter Clara Maria he married in 1671. In order to marry the 27-year-old woman, who had a

limp A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absence ...

, Kerckring became a Roman Catholic. She helped her father teach

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

; there is a famous but unsubstantiated story that Spinoza loved her unreciprocatedly. Although further details of his early life are sketchy, it is known that he spent much of his medical career prior to 1675 in

Singel The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Statio ...

. Afterwards he travelled throughout continental Europe, settling in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

in 1678. In 1683 he invited his old friend

Niels Stensen Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and bishop 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 di ...

, needed new position. Kerckring helped Stensen with an appointment in Hamburg and Stensen asked the Duke of Tuscany,

to help Kerckring with a post. Then both men were able to share experiences and ideas. KerckringSpicilegium1

Kerckring is remembered for his ''Spicilegium anatomicum'', which is an

anatomical 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 it ...

atlas of clinical observations, medical curiosities,

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

discoveries along with general anatomical information. He is credited with describing "Kerckring's ossicles", which is an occasional ossification centre in the occipital bone that appears around the 16th week of

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pr ...

. He also provided a comprehensive description of the folds of the mucous membrane of the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...

. These anatomical folds go by several different names, including the " valves of Kerckring", "Kerckring's folds", ''plicae circulares'' and ''valvulae conniventes''. Kerckring used a microscope made by Spinoza.

Works

* ''Theodori Kerckringii ... Opera Omnia Anatomica : Continentia Specilegivm Anatomicvm, Osteogeniam Foetvvm Nec Non Anthropogeniæ Ichnographiam; Accuratissimis Figuris æri incisis illustrata. - Editio secunda. - Lugduni Batavorum'' * ''Commentarius in currum triumphalem Antimonii Basilii Valentini, a se latinitate donatum. - Amstelodami: Sumptibus Andreæ Frisii'', 1671 * ''The Triumphal Chariot Of Antimony'' by Basilius Valentinus. With the commentary of Theodore Kerckringius, being the Latin version publ. at Amsterdam, 1685, transl. into English and German

References

External links

The Triumphal Chariot Of Antimony

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerckring, Theodor 1638 births 1693 deaths 17th-century Dutch physicians Dutch anatomists 17th-century Dutch anatomists Fellows of the Royal Society Leiden University alumni Scientists from Amsterdam Physicians from Hamburg