Walter Eduard Carl Koch (3 May 1880 in Dortmund,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– 21 November 1962 in Gretesch) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

best known for the discovery of ''

Koch's triangle Koch's triangle, named after the German pathologist Walter Koch, is an anatomical area located in the superficial paraseptal endocardium of the right atrium, which its boundaries are the coronary sinus orifice, tendon of Todaro, and septal leaf ...

'', a triangular shaped area in the right atrium of the heart. Educated in Freiburg im Breisgau and at the

Kaiser Wilhelm Academy The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science ( German: ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften'') was a German scientific institution established in the German Empire in 1911. Its functions were taken over b ...

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 ...

, he obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 1907 at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. As a military physician, he served at the pathological institute in Freiburg. Later on he worked in

. Here he habilitated in general

pathology 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 ...

and

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination o ...

in 1921. After being named a professor in 1922, he worked as head of department at Berlin's Westend hospital.

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Citations

1880 births 1962 deaths German pathologists {{Germany-med-bio-stub