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 cell is the basic unit of all living organisms.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all life forms.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all living matter.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all organic life.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital activity.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital phenomena.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital processes.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital functions.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital operations.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The cell is the basic unit of all vital actions.

Cellular Pathology 1858

The task of science is to lend wings to the human mind.

Book 1877

Between the animal and the human lies the chasm that can only be bridged by the intervention of a divine power.

Letter 1860

Pathology is the mother of medicine.

Book 1858

The body is the temple of the soul, and disease is its desecration.

Speech 1890

In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs.

Interview 1880

Cells are the starting point of all life.

Book 1855

Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one.

Book 1871

The physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social problems should largely be settled at the bedside.

Speech 1848

Life is a short interval between two eternities.

Personal reflection 1900

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

Speech 1870