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)
Disease is not an entity, but a process.
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.
If medicine is to fulfill its great task, it must enter the political and social life of man.
Everywhere we see that the cell is the true, active element, and that the tissues are only the sum of the cells.
There is no such thing as a specific disease, but only specific conditions of the organism.
The whole of pathology is nothing more than an enlarged physiology.
The cell is the elementary organism.
The ultimate cause of disease is to be sought in the cell.
The body is a cell-state in which every cell is a citizen.
The cell is the point of departure for all pathological processes.
The cell is the true seat of life.
The cell is the true anatomical element.
The cell is the true physiological element.
The cell is the true pathological element.
The cell is the true therapeutic element.
The cell is the true biological element.
The cell is the true morphological element.
The cell is the true structural element.
The cell is the true functional element.
The cell is the true developmental element.
Contemporaries of Rudolf Virchow
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902).