Johann Nathanael Lieberkühn (5 September 1711, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– 7 October 1756, in Berlin) was a German

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. His middle name is sometimes misspelled ''Nathaniel''. Lieberkühn studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

initially, and then moved to

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, in particular

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

. It was only after this that he commenced

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. In 1739 he moved to

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, in the Netherlands, and then a year later to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Following this he returned to Berlin as a member of the Collegium medico-chirurgicum, the body charged with improving the teaching and science of medicine in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, making mathematical and optical instruments and working as a professor and medical doctor. Besides his physiological work, Lieberkühn was most known for his preparation of medical

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

s—these were still presented up to the nineteenth century, especially in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, as masterpieces. His specimens were prepared primarily with injections of wax-containing fluids into body cavities, creating relatively durable shapes. The

Crypts of Lieberkühn In histology, an intestinal gland (also crypt of Lieberkühn and intestinal crypt) is a gland found in between villi in the intestinal epithelial lining of the small intestine and large intestine (or colon). The glands and intestinal villi are ...

(intestinal glands) are named for him; he first described these in detail in ''De fabrica et actione vollorum intestinorum tenuium hominis'', in 1745. Beyond this, Lieberkühn produced optical instruments such as compass microscopes with Lieberkühn reflector, further developing the

light microscope The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible spectrum, visible light and a system of lens (optics), lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes ...

, which he had seen for the first time in Amsterdam. His custom microscopes for studying blood vessels were called "Wundergläser", ‘wonder-glasses’ by his contemporaries. In 1755, Lieberkühn was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

External links

Sources

18th-century German physicians Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Physicians from Berlin 1711 births 1756 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Prussian physicians {{Germany-academic-bio-stub

See also

External links

Sources