William Cowper

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A Moment in History

Georg Eduard Von Rindfleisch
(1836 – 1908)

German pathologist and histologist of Bavarian nobility ancestry. Rindfleisch studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, earning his MD in 1859 with the thesis “De Vasorum Genesi” (on the generation of vessels) under the tutelage of Rudolf Virchow (1821 - 1902). He then continued as a assistant to Virchow in a newly founded institute in Berlin. He then moved to Breslau in 1861 as an assistant to Rudolf Heidenhain (1834–1897), becoming a professor of pathological anatomy. In 1865 he became full professor in Bonn and in 1874 in Würzburg, where a new pathological institute was built according to his design (completed in 1878), where he worked until his retirement in 1906.

He was the first to describe the inflammatory background of multiple sclerosis in 1863, when he noted that demyelinated lesions have in their center small vessels that are surrounded by a leukocyte inflammatory infiltrate.

After extensive investigations, he suspected an infectious origin of tuberculosis - even before Robert Koch's detection of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1892. Rindfleisch 's special achievement is the description of the morphologically conspicuous macrophages in typhoid inflammation. His distinction between myocardial infarction and myocarditis in 1890 is also of lasting importance.

Associated eponyms

"Rindfleisch's folds": Usually a single semilunar fold of the serous surface of the pericardium around the origin of the aorta. Also known as the plica semilunaris aortæ.

"Rindfleisch's cells": Historical (and obsolete) name for eosinophilic leukocytes.

Personal note: G. Rindfleisch’s book “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” 2nd edition (1873) is now part of my library. This book was translated from German to French by Dr. Frédéric Gross (1844-1927) , Associate Professor of the Medicine Faculty in Nancy, France. The book is dedicated to Dr. Theodore Billroth (1829-1894), an important surgeon whose pioneering work on subtotal gastrectomies paved the way for today’s robotic bariatric surgery. Dr. Miranda.

Sources:
1. "Stedmans Medical Eponyms" Forbis, P.; Bartolucci, SL; 1998 Williams and Wilkins
2. "Rindfleisch, Georg Eduard von (bayerischer Adel?)" Deutsche Biographie
3. "The pathology of multiple sclerosis and its evolution" Lassmann H. (1999) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 354 (1390): 1635–40.
4. “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” G.E.
Rindfleisch 2nd Ed (1873) Ballieres et Fils. Paris, Translated by F Gross

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Details: Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D.; Published: September 16, 2013; Hits: 4928

This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.

William Cowper

William Cowper (1666 – 1710). English barber-surgeon and anatomist, William Cowper (sometimes known as William Cooper) was born in Petersfield, Hampshire. After apprenticeship with famous barber-surgeons, Cowmper was admitted as a Freeman to the Company of Barber Surgeons in 1691 after which he had a successful career as a surgeon and an anatomist in London.

Cowper opened the first private school of anatomy in London. In 1694, Cowper published “Myotomia Reformata “, a great textbook with a description of all the muscles. A controversy arose because Cowper used the illustrations from another book by Govert Bidloo (1649 – 1713). The controversy became a problem for Cowper who had to answer questions on the subject to the Royal academy, where Cowper became a member in 1699. Cowper alleged that Bidloo’s plates, although greatly illustrated had a poor description which he improved.

In 1699 Cowper published the “Philosophical Transactions” where he describes the bulbourethral glands which are today eponymically tied to his name. An infection of these glands is called a “Cowperitis”.

The bulbourethral glands had already been described by Jean M?ry (1645– 1722) and Cowper did not claim to discover these glands. As in the case with many eponyms, the name attached to a structure is not necessarily the one who discovered it. Today, many do not remember that Cowper's name is also used to describe "Cowper's ligament", that portion of the fascia lata that is attached to the iliac crest.

Sources:
1. “Two eponymous surgeons: William Cowper and Francois Poupart” Ellis, H. Brit J Hosp Med (2009) 70:4, 225
2. "Cowper, William (1666–1710)" Kornell, M, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
3. "Medical Discoveries, who and when" Schmidt, JE: C Thomas Pub. 1959
Original image in the public domain, courtesy of "Images from the History of Medicine" at www.nih.gov

William Cowper

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