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)
The ultimate goal of medicine is to prevent disease.
The task of medicine is to preserve health and to prevent disease.
Pathology is not merely a descriptive science, but an explanatory one.
Every disease is a local manifestation of a general disturbance.
The true physician is a natural philosopher.
Medicine is a practical science.
Disease is life under altered conditions.
The aim of science is to understand nature.
The cell is the center of all pathological processes.
Medicine is an art based on science.
The physician must be a keen observer.
The cell is the key to understanding life and disease.
The study of medicine is the study of man.
The cell is the seat of all disease.
The physician must be a humanitarian.
The cell is the fundamental unit of all organisms.
The physician must be a teacher.
The cell is the basis of all physiological and pathological processes.
The physician must be a researcher.
The cell is the seat of all vital functions.
Contemporaries of Rudolf Virchow
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902).