Virchow, Rudolf Ludwig Carl

10/13/1821–9/5/1902
GERMAN
PATHOLOGIST, PHYSICIAN

Rudolf Carl Virchow was the founder of the school of cellular pathology , which forms the basis of modern pathology. Pathologists examine tissues and organs to identify and study the effects of disease upon the body. Forensic pathologists examine tissues and organs for legal purposes and crime solving, such as determining the cause of death , and documenting disease processes or bodily injuries.

Virchow, an only child, was born in a small rural town in Germany. His early interest in the natural sciences and broad humanistic training helped him get high marks throughout school. In 1839, his outstanding scholarly abilities earned him a military fellowship to study medicine at the Freidrich-Wilhelms Institute in Berlin, Germany. Virchow had the opportunity to study under Johannes Müller, who encouraged many German physicians to use experimental laboratory methods in their medical studies. Gaining experience in experimental laboratory and diagnostic methods, Virchow received his medical degree in 1843 from the University of Berlin and went on to become company surgeon at the Charité Hospital in Berlin.

As a young scientist, Virchow became a powerful speaker for the new generation of German physicians. He viewed medical progress as coming from three main sources: clinical observations, including examination of the patient; animal experimentation to test methods and drugs; and pathological anatomy, especially at the microscopic level. He also insisted that life was the sum of physical and chemical actions and essentially the expression of cell activity. Although these views caused some older physicians to condemn Virchow, he received his medical license in 1846.

Two years later, Virchow was sent to Prussia to treat victims of a typhus epidemic. Seeing the desperate condition of the Polish minority, he recommended sweeping educational and economic reform and political freedom. From that point on, he argued that to provide any benefit for the sick, one must treat the ills of society. Acting on his convictions, Virchow fought in the uprisings of 1848 and became a member of the Berlin Democratic Congress. Unfortunately, his strong political and social conscience cost him his university post. Virchow finally left Berlin for the more liberal atmosphere of the University of Würzburg.

It was at Wüzrburg that Virchow embarked on his highest level of scientific achievement—his development of cellular pathology. In 1855, Virchow published his journal article on cellular pathology. "Omnis cellula e cellula," he wrote, meaning all cells arise from cells. Essentially, his article generalized the concept of cell theory and modernized the entire medical field. The cell became the fundamental living unit in both healthy and diseased tissue. He used the microscope to bring the study of disease down to a more fundamental level; disease occurred because healthy living cells were altered or disturbed. In 1859, Virchow's book Cell Pathology became a classic textbook that would influence generations of physicians. Although Virchow's work carries lasting significance, Virchow rejected the germ theory developed by Louis Pasteur, arguing instead that diseased tissue resulted from the breakdown of order within cells and not from the invasion of a foreign body. Scientists have since discovered that disease results from both circumstances.

see also Autopsy; Pathology.