Rudolf Virchow

Medicine German 1821 – 1902 361 quotes

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 practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business.

Attributed