Sunao Tawara
Encyclopedia
, M.D.
, Ph.D.
, was a Japan
ese pathologist
.
Tawara was born in Aki (Ōita Prefecture
) and studied at the Imperial University
in Tokyo
, graduating in 1901 and receiving his degree in 1908. The years 1903 to 1906 he spent in Marburg
studying pathology and pathological anatomy
with Ludwig Aschoff
. It was here he undertook his important works on the anatomy and pathology of the heart
. Upon returning to Japan
he was appointed assistant professor of pathology at what is now Kyushu University
in Fukuoka
, obtaining full professorship in 1908.
named a road Tawara Street.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, was a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese pathologist
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
.
Tawara was born in Aki (Ōita Prefecture
Oita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
) and studied at the Imperial University
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, graduating in 1901 and receiving his degree in 1908. The years 1903 to 1906 he spent in Marburg
Philipps University of Marburg
The Philipp University of Marburg , was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philip I of Hesse as the world's oldest university dating back to a Protestant foundation...
studying pathology and pathological 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...
with Ludwig Aschoff
Ludwig Aschoff
Karl Albert Ludwig Aschoff was a German physician and pathologist. He is considered to be one of the most influential pathologists of the early 20th century and is regarded as the most important German pathologist after Rudolf Virchow.Aschoff was born in Berlin, Prussia...
. It was here he undertook his important works on the anatomy and pathology of the heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
. Upon returning to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
he was appointed assistant professor of pathology at what is now Kyushu University
Kyushu University
Kyushu University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 8th in 2010 and 2009 in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai...
in Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
, obtaining full professorship in 1908.
- Node of Tawara: a remnant of primitive fibers found in all mammalian hearts at the base of the interauricular septum, and forming the beginning of the auriculoventricular bundle or bundle of HisBundle of HisThe bundle of His, known as the AV bundle or atrioventricular bundle, is a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction that transmits the electrical impulses from the AV node to the point of the apex of the fascicular branches...
, which is a muscular band, containing nerve fibers, connecting the auricles with the ventricles of the heart. The Node of Tawara is also called the atrioventricular node, the auriculoventricular node, Aschoff's node, and the node of Aschoff and Tawara.
Works
- Die Topographie und Histologie der Brückenfasern. Ein Beitrag zur Lehre von der Bedeutung der Purkinjeschen Fäden. (Vorläufige Mitteilung). Zentralblatt für Physiologie, Band 19, Nr. 3, 6. Mai 1905, S. 70-77
- Anatomisch-histologische Nachprüfung der Schnittführung an den von Prof. H. E. Hering übersandten Hundeherzen.. Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere, Band 111, No 7-8, 20 Februar 1906, S. 300-302.
- Über die sogenannten abnormen Sehnenfäden des Herzens. Ziegler’s Beiträge zur Pathologischen Anatomie und zur allgemeinen Pathologie, Band 39, 1906, S. 563-584
- Das Reizleitungssystem des Säugetierherzens. Eine anatomisch-histologische Studie über das Atrioventrikularbündel und die Purkinjeschen Fäden. Jena:Gustav Fischer, 1906
- Die heutige Lehre von den pathologisch-anatomischen Grundlagen der Herzschwäche: kritische Bemerkungen auf Grund eigener Untersuchungen. (mit L. Aschoff). Jena: Fischer, 1906
Literature
- L. Aschoff - Marburg: Bericht über die Untersuchungen des Herrn Dr. Tawara, die "Brückenfasern" betreffend, und Demonstration der zugehörigenmikroskopischen Präparate. Zentralblatt für Physiologie, Vol 19, No. 10, 12. August 1905, p. 298-301.
- K. Suma: Sunao Tawara - a father of modern cardiology. Pacing Clin. Electrophysiol. No. 24 (2001), p. 88-96.
- Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, Vol. 7 (1983), p. 351
- E.J. Wormer: Syndrome der Kardiologie und ihre Schöpfer. München 1989, p. 9–16.
- W. Michel: On the German Manuscript of S. Tawara's The Conduction System of the Mammalian Heart Proceedings of The 5th Tawara-Aschoff Symposium on Cardiac Conduction System, p. 45-49, Oita, Dec 2007. (written in Japanese) (pdf-file: Kyushu University Institutional Repository)
External links
- M.E. Silverman / D. Grove, Ch. B. Upshaw, Jr, Why Does the Heart Beat? The Discovery of the Electricals System of the Heart. Circulation 2006, 113, 2775-2781
- 田原淳（たはらすなお）－心臓の電気的刺激伝導系の発見者 (Written in Japanese)
Tawara Street
To honor his achievements, Kyushu UniversityKyushu University
Kyushu University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 8th in 2010 and 2009 in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai...
named a road Tawara Street.