Biomaterial Database

Rudolf Virchow, not just a pathologist: a re-examination of the report on the typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia. 1997

H A Azar

Department of Pathology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.

Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902) is mainly remembered as the "father" of cellular pathology; however, he was not just a pathologist. His contributions to anthropology, archeology, ethnography, and history, as well as his involvement in epidemiology, public health, and politics, portray a man with multiple interests, deeply engaged in the controversies of his time. In his Report on the Typhus Epidemics of Upper Silesia of 1848, the young Virchow reveals himself to be a self-assured pathologist, although his postmortem examinations failed to shed much light on typhus. Despite of his shortcomings and biases, Virchow's genius is revealed in his deep appreciation of the importance of the total physical, socio-cultural, economic, and political background of epidemic diseases. One can discern in the Report the making of Virchow, the politician and statesman who will contribute to the modernization of Germany's public health, and of the physician-scholar and physician-citizen who, despite of his shortcomings and militancy, continues to inspire and challenge us today.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010336	Pathology	A specialty concerned with the nature and cause of disease as expressed by changes in cellular or tissue structure and function caused by the disease process.	Pathologies
D011044	Poland	A country in central Europe, east of Germany. The capital is Warsaw.	Polish People's Republic,Republic of Poland
D004196	Disease Outbreaks	Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.	Outbreaks,Infectious Disease Outbreaks,Disease Outbreak,Disease Outbreak, Infectious,Disease Outbreaks, Infectious,Infectious Disease Outbreak,Outbreak, Disease,Outbreak, Infectious Disease,Outbreaks, Disease,Outbreaks, Infectious Disease
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014438	Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne	The classic form of typhus, caused by RICKETTSIA PROWAZEKII, which is transmitted from man to man by the louse Pediculus humanus corporis. This disease is characterized by the sudden onset of intense headache, malaise, and generalized myalgia followed by the formation of a macular skin eruption and vascular and neurologic disturbances.	Brill's Disease,Brill-Zinsser Disease,Typhus,Brill Disease,Epidemic Typhus,Jail Fever,Louse-Borne Typhus,Rickettsia prowazekii Infection,Brill Zinsser Disease,Brills Disease,Epidemic Louse-Borne Typhus,Fever, Jail,Infection, Rickettsia prowazekii,Louse Borne Typhus,Louse-Borne Typhus, Epidemic,Rickettsia prowazekii Infections,Typhus, Epidemic,Typhus, Epidemic Louse Borne,Typhus, Louse-Borne
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History