Friedrich Sigmund Merkel (5 April 1845 – 28 May 1919) was a leading German anatomist

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 and histopathologist

Histopathology

Histopathology refers to the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of disease...

 of the late 19th century. In 1875 he provided the first full description of Tastzellen (touch cells) which occur in the skin of all vertebrates. They were subsequently given the eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

 Merkel cell

Merkel cell

Merkel cells or Merkel-Ranvier cells are oval receptor cells found in the skin of vertebrates that have synaptic contacts with somatosensory afferents. They are associated with the sense of light touch discrimination of shapes and textures. They can turn malignant and form the skin tumor known as...

s in 1878 by Robert Bonnet

Robert Bonnet (physician)

Robert Bonnet was a German anatomist born in Augsburg.In 1876 he received his doctorate at Munich, where in 1880 he began work as an assistant at the anatomical institute. The following year he was appointed professor at the Königliche Centraltierarzneischule in Munich...

 (1851–1921).

Merkel was a native of Nürnberg. In 1869 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Erlangen, becoming habilitated in the field of anatomy

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 during the following year. He was a professor at the Universities of Rostock

University of Rostock

The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...

 (from 1872), Königsberg

University of Königsberg

The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....

 (from 1883) and Göttingen (from 1885). Two of his better known assistants were Dietrich Barfurth

Dietrich Barfurth

Karl Dietrich Gerhard Barfurth was a German anatomist and embryologist who was born in Dinslaken.He studied mathematics and sciences at the University of Göttingen, and medicine at the University of Bonn. In 1882 he earned his medical doctorate, and in 1883 received his habilitation in anatomy...

 (1849-1927) and Hermann Kuhnt

Hermann Kuhnt

Hermann Kuhnt was a German ophthalmologist born in Senftenberg, Brandenburg.He studied medicine in Bonn, Berlin and Würzburg, and following graduation worked at the anatomy institute in Rostock under Friedrich Sigmund Merkel . Afterwards he became assistant to ophthalmologist Otto Becker at the...

 (1850-1925),

Selected publications

• Das Mikroskop und seine Anwendung, 1875
• Handbuch der topographischen Anatomie (Textbook of Topographical Anatomy), 1885-1907
• Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwickelungsgeschichte; from 1892 one annual volume, published with Robert Bonnet (1851-1921).
• Menschliche Embryonen verschiedenen Alters auf Medianschnitten untersucht, 1894
• Die Anatomie des Menschen. Mit Hinweisen auf die ärztliche Praxis, 1913-18

External links

• Friedrich Sigmund Merkel @ Who Named It
  Who Named It
  Who Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...