Leopold Auerbach
Born(1828-04-27)27 April 1828
Died30 September 1897(1897-09-30) (aged 69)
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Anatomist, neuropathologist

Leopold Auerbach (27 April 1828 – 30 September 1897) was a German anatomist and neuropathologist born in Breslau. He is best known for discovering the myenteric plexus aka Auerbach’s plexus, which helps control the GI tract.

Education and career

Auerbach studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Berlin and the Leipzig.[1] He became a physician in 1849, obtained his habilitation in 1863. From 1872 he was an associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Breslau.[2]

Discoveries

Auerbach was among the first physicians to diagnose the nervous system using histological staining methods. He published a number of papers on neuropathological problems and muscle-related disorders.

He is credited with the discovery of Plexus myentericus Auerbachi, or Auerbach's plexus, a layer of ganglion cells that provide control of movements of the gastro-intestinal tract, also known as the "myenteric plexus".

"Friedreich–Auerbach disease" is named after Auerbach and pathologist Nikolaus Friedreich (1825–1882). It is a rare disease characterized by hemi-hypertrophy of the facial features, tongue, and tonsils.[3]

Family

Auerbach died in Breslau. His son Felix Auerbach was a renowned physicist, while his son Friedrich Auerbach was a chemist. Friedrich’s daughter Charlotte Auerbach was a geneticist.

Bibliography

  • Ueber Percussion der Muskeln; in: Zeitschrift für rationelle Medizin, Leipzig and Heidelberg 1862.
  • Bau der Blut- und Lymph-Capillaren; in: Centralblatt für die medicinischen Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1865.
  • Lymphgefässe des Darms; in: [Virchows] Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1865. volume 33.
  • Wahre Muskelhypertrophie; in: [Virchows] Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Berlin, 1871, volume 53.[4]
  • Leopold Auerbach (1923). Organologische Studien. Zur Charakteristik und Lebensgeschichte der Zellkerne, Volumes 1–2. Nabu Press. p. 296. ISBN 1294240250.

See also

Sources

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