Rudolf Virchow: Cellular Pathologist

Abstract

Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) Rudolf Carl Virchow was born October 13, 1821, in the small town of Schivelbein, in Eastern Pomerania, now part of Poland. He was the only son of a farmer, who also held a position in local government. As a schoolboy, Virchow behaved poorly, but scholastically he was brilliant. He showed a talent for science, languages, and hard work. In 1839 he received a fellowship to study medicine in Berlin at the Friedrich-Wilhelms Institute, the Army Medical School, with the intention of pursuing a military career. There he met Johannes Mueller, a famous physiologist, anatomist, and pathologist who greatly influenced him. Upon graduating in 1843 he changed his mind about a military career and instead accepted an unpaid position as an assistant prosecutor with clinical duties at the Charite Hospital, the largest hospital in Berlin. In this position he had access to the laboratories of Mueller and no doubt learned from him correct experimental technique. Mueller and Virchow got along well; Mueller recognized Virchow’s limitless energy and sharp mind. Mueller encouraged Virchow to study the pathological changes in tissues removed at autopsy. In 1846 he received a permanent position at the Charite, and in 1847 became a member of the medical faculty. In this position, Virchow gave classes in pathological anatomy and opened up autopsies to medical students. Virchow’s forcible character was also very noticeable. He had an overwhelming confidence, an assertive manner, and was thought by some to be overly arrogant. In 1845 Virchow wrote the first of many scientific papers describing leukemia. A short while later he introduced the terms thrombosis and embolism in another paper. Irritated at the time it took to get articles published and …