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 physician must be a social reformer.

Die öffentliche Gesundheitspflege und die Cholera 1848

The cell is the starting point of all life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The study of disease is the study of the cell.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the fundamental unit of life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The physician must be a scientist.

The cell is the basic unit of structure and function in all living organisms.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the ultimate element of all living things.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the building block of life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the foundation of all biological processes.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the key to understanding life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the smallest unit of life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of heredity.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of evolution.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of disease.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of health.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of medicine.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of pathology.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of physiology.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of anatomy.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of biology.

Cellular Pathology 1858