Conrad Eckhard (1 March 1822 – 28 April 1905) was a German
physiologist
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...
born in
Homberg (Efze),
Electorate of Hesse.
He studied medicine in
Berlin and
Marburg, and from 1848 served as a
prosector under
Franz Ludwig Fick (1813–1858) and as an assistant to
Carl Ludwig (1816–1895) in
Marburg. In 1850 he moved to
Giessen, where he worked as a prosector and assistant to
Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff (1807–1882). From 1855 to 1891 he was an associate professor of
physiology and
anatomy at the
University of Giessen. From 1858 to 1888 he was editor of ''Beiträge zur Anatomie and Physiologie''.
Eckhard is remembered for pioneer research of motor (
myotomes) and sensory (
dermatomes) projections of
nerve roots. He also made contributions in his investigations towards
olfaction
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
In humans, it ...
in
amphibians
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
, and in his studies on the
erector mechanism of the
canine penis.
The History of Clinical Endocrinology
by Victor Cornelius Medvei
Selected writings
* ''Grundzüge der Physiologie des Nervensystems'' (Outlines on the Physiology of the Nervous System), 1854
* ''Lehrbuch der Anatomie des Menschen'' (Textbook on the Anatomy of Humans), 1862
* ''Experimentalphysiologie des Nervensystems'' (Experimental Physiology of the Nervous System), 1867
References
The Virtual Laboratory
(biographical information)
1822 births
1905 deaths
People from Homberg (Efze)
People from the Electorate of Hesse
German physiologists
University of Marburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Giessen
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