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Rudolf Virchow


Following on from my visit to the Huntarian museum in London, which documented anatomical specimens in innumerable jars, I visited the German equivalent in Berlin - The Medizinhistorisches Museum on Charite University campus.


As expected from the guide books and hype from my Deutsch colleagues, the exhibit is truly fascinating with some morbid sections which warrant the over 16s certification. It is these specimens that are naturally off-putting to some (as evolution dictates innate disgust at abnormality) which are incredibly fascinating documents of life trying to survive regardless of aberrant genetics. Naturally one feels a sadness when viewing some specimens, especially due to the young age of the subject, but regardless, scientific intrigue overrides in this astounding museum.


In a section of the museum devoted to eminent German scientists I read about Rudolf Virchow, and whilst reading the short summary next to a compilation of his belongings in a cabinet, I realised how important a man he was to now numerous arms of biology. Virchow was the first to hypothesise and prove that the body is comprised of different cells which perform different tasks. As an immunologist I was surprised to not have heard his name or read about him in text books before now. Virchow's cell theory "omnis cellula e cellula" - 'every living cell comes from another living cell', remains his defining contribution to the epoch of fundamental cell biology, although for some time he didn't believe that all cells divided (no cigar).

More information on the museum and Virchow can be found on the links below.

http://www.bmm.charite.de/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Virchow

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