In Search of Andreas Vesalius The Quest for the Grave, Lost and not yet found

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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

"Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc., and the contributors of "Medical Terminology Daily" wish to thank all individuals who donate their bodies and tissues for the advancement of education and research”.

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Details: Written by: Pascale Pollier; Published: April 25, 2018; Hits: 3432

Cover of the book by Theo Dirix

My partner in crime and fellow traveler, Theo Dirix, has just published a new account of our common quest for the lost grave of Andreas Vesalius. Until the scientific results of our latest mission in Zakynthos in September 2017, will become public, this collection of articles published since 2014 represents a detailed and complete status quaestionis of a search that will never be the same anymore.

I'm proud and grateful to be part of a team he describes a most tenacious.

Following is a remarkable quote from the book: "The beast you have in your hands may appear as aged and stubborn: indeed, the texts collected here are not new and they regularly echo each other. The beast barks and growls: these words do not intend to examine or research but were meant to sell a project to potential sponsors. I feel the taste of the creature’s spit in my face, but pleading not guilty to any accusation of self-glorification, I do hope I managed to teach it a few tricks you will enjoy. While continuing to write about Vesalius’s death and his grave, black dogs may still be scratching at my hermitage. When I will finally throw open the doors to the beauty beyond, here’s hoping the encounter with the female spider will taste as fresh as a first kiss and be the beginning of something else."

No surprise some have described the book as: "a truly captivating story (a Live Adventure!) written in a fascinating, passionate and inspiring way. Theo Dirix, with his unique style is describing facts from his adventure to locate the grave of Vesalius and he is mentioning with great respect all his collaborators, the friends of Vesalius and those who share the same passion for Anatomy and Art." (Vasia Hatzi on Med in Art).

The book can be ordered here: https://www.shopmybooks.com/US/en/book/theo-dirix-32/in-search-of-andreas-vesalius . (English version of the website). More information about the author on his website www.theodirix.com. or here.

Personal note: Thanks to Pascale Pollier, a contributor to this website, for allowing us to publish this article, originally published on Vesalius Continuum.

I received a personalized copy from the author, Theo Dirix; Thank you very much for the recognition and the use of this website as reference in some of your comments. It is a great read for anyone even mildly interested in the life and specially the death and disappearance of the grave of Andreas Vesalius. There are several passages in the book that I will have to research and transform in articles for this blog.

For those who collaborated in the GoFundMe campaign because or our article entitled Do you want your name in a book? The Quest for the Lost Grave.... this is the book and the name of all the contributors are listed in it!

The quest continues... Dr. Miranda

In Search of Andreas Vesalius The Quest for the Grave, Lost and not yet found

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