Heinrich Meckel from Hemsbach

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johann Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach (born June 8, 1821 in Halle , † January 30, 1856 in Berlin ) was a German medic. He was a prosector at the Charité Berlin and an associate professor of pathological anatomy .

Life

Heinrich Meckel came from an old medical dynasty. His father was August Albrecht Meckel (1790-1829), prosector in Halle and professor of anatomy and forensic medicine at the University of Bern . His grandfather was Philipp Friedrich Theodor Meckel (1756-1803), who taught anatomy and surgery in Halle . His great-grandfather was Johann Friedrich Meckel (1724–1774), professor of anatomy and midwifery in Berlin and royal body surgeon.

Meckel was born in Halle in 1821, and the family moved to Bern in 1822. After his father's death he came back to Halle, where he lived with his childless relatives Fritz and Friederike Meckel. In 1840 he went to the University of Halle, after three semesters he moved to Berlin. Here he came into contact with the biologist Johannes Müller . During the five semesters in Berlin his studies were interrupted by illnesses that made him bedridden for a long time. He returned to Halle and graduated in 1845 with the dissertation "De genest adipis animalibus".

He undertook further studies in histology and embryology under Eduard d'Alton in Halle and Johannes Müller in Berlin. In 1847 his habilitation thesis "De pseudoplasmatibus in genere et de carcinomate in specie" was published. In contrast to Rudolf Virchow , Meckel von Hemsbach explained the development of carcinomas by mechanical pressure on body cells, which were converted into cancer cells by this physical stimulus. In 1849 he went to Vienna. From 1852 he headed the Prosektur at the Charité in Berlin and in 1855 he became an associate professor for pathological anatomy at the university. He was practically in the position that his great-grandfather Johann Friedrich Meckel had occupied a century earlier.

The heavy strain in these functions led to renewed health problems. On January 30, 1856, Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach succumbed to his recurring lung disease at the age of only 34. He was buried in the churchyard of the Dorotheenstädtische Church in Berlin. The tomb was lost when the church and churchyard were leveled in 1965 at the latest.

After Meckel's death, Rudolf Virchow took over as his successor.

Heinrich Meckel was married to Theophile von Denffer (1824-1902) from the old Kurland noble family Denffer . The couple had a son, Adolf Meckel , who became known as a painter.

Fonts (selection)

  • De genest adipis animalibus , 1845
  • De pseudoplasmatibus in genere et de carcinomate in specie , 1847
  • On the morphology of the urinary and genital organs of vertebrates , 1848
  • Microgeology , 1858 (posthumous)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hanna K. Probst, Axel W. Bauer : pioneer and companion of new surgical therapy concepts. Tumor pathology in gynecology during the second half of the 19th century. In: Specialized prose research - Crossing borders. Volume 10, 2014, pp. 89–110, here: pp. 89 f.
  2. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , pp. 40–41.
personal data
SURNAME Meckel von Hemsbach, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meckel von Hemsbach, Johann Heinrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German medic
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH Hall
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1856
Place of death Berlin