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

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. 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 the context of modern medical treatme ...

.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 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 ...

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 a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. He became an assistant professor in

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

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. During his military service he received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

second class. In 1919 he earned his

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

at the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of 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, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, 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 organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

s in the

endocrine gland The endocrine system is a network of glands and organs located throughout the body. Along with the nervous system, it makes the neuroendocrine system, which controls and regulates many of the body's functions. Endocrine glands are ductless gland ...

. In Venezuela he focused on

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

such as

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

and

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

. He died in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. 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 (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

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