Rudolf Virchow
The 'father of modern pathology,' he emphasized that diseases arise from changes in cells, not humors.
Most quoted
"The cell is the ultimate morphological unit in which there is any manifestation of life, and we must not imagine that it is a mere aggregation of elementary particles."
— from Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre, 1858
"The improvement of medicine would eventually prolong human life, but improvement of social conditions could achieve this result more rapidly and more successfully."
"The characteristic feature of all infectious diseases is that they are caused by the transfer of a living agent from a diseased to a healthy individual."
All quotes by Rudolf Virchow (361)
Omnis cellula e cellula.
Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale.
The physician is the natural attorney of the poor, and social problems fall to a large extent within his jurisdiction.
Diseases are not autonomous organisms, but only the expression of the life of the cells under altered conditions.
The cell is the ultimate morphological unit in which there is any manifestation of life.
Where there is no cell, there is no life.
The body is a cell state in which every cell is a citizen.
To practice medicine is to practice politics.
The task of science is to understand the world, not to change it.
The public health is a matter of public concern.
The cell is the elementary living unit.
Every disease is a local process.
The ultimate goal of all medical research is the prevention of disease.
There are no specific diseases, only specific conditions.
The study of disease is the study of life.
The physician's duty is to protect the health of the community.
The cell is the true anatomical unit.
The progress of medicine depends on the progress of science.
The cell is the seat of all vital phenomena.
The greatest discovery of the 19th century was the cell.
Contemporaries of Rudolf Virchow
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902).