Josias Weitbrecht
Encyclopedia
Josias Weitbrecht was a known German Professor of Medicine
and Anatomy
in Russia
.
of philosophy
. By the medium of Dr Duvernoy in the year 1721 he came to the University of St. Petersburg, where he studied medicine, physiology and anatomy, his main subject, which he taught students from the academic grammar school, associated with the Russian Academy of Science. This academy accepted him as a member in 1725. Later, on January 22, 1730, he was appointed ordinary professor of physiology
at this university, but in 1743 he underwent the danger to be released despite best credentials due to the expiry of his agreement but until 1746 he could remain in his position with a freelance contract. Finally due to an intervention of the count Alexei Grigorevich Razumovsky his employment contract could be renewed and Weitbrecht was appointed Full Professor of anatomy in January 1747. Shortly after having restarted officially his work he suddenly died due to the takings resulting from the above mentioned uncertain situation.
In his time Josias Weitbrecht was considered one of the most important anatomists. He described first and foremost the construction and function of the intervertebral disc
. Some special foramina
, ligament
s, cartilage
s and fibres were named after him. Furthermore in winter 1738 he recalibrated the Delisle thermometers, which usually had 2400 graduations, to a new Delisle scale
with 0 degrees as the boiling point
and 150 degrees as the freezing point
of water. The Delisle thermometer remained in use for almost 100 years in Russia. Altogether 21 articles, where he described his researches, are the basis of new cognitions and he used an excellent style of the Latin language.
Josias Weitbrecht married Katharina Sophia Duran from Copenhagen
, and with her had two sons and two daughters.
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and 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...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Life and career
After his studies at the University of Tübingen initially Josias Weitbrecht acquired the academic degree for a magisterMagister (degree)
Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...
of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. By the medium of Dr Duvernoy in the year 1721 he came to the University of St. Petersburg, where he studied medicine, physiology and anatomy, his main subject, which he taught students from the academic grammar school, associated with the Russian Academy of Science. This academy accepted him as a member in 1725. Later, on January 22, 1730, he was appointed ordinary professor of physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
at this university, but in 1743 he underwent the danger to be released despite best credentials due to the expiry of his agreement but until 1746 he could remain in his position with a freelance contract. Finally due to an intervention of the count Alexei Grigorevich Razumovsky his employment contract could be renewed and Weitbrecht was appointed Full Professor of anatomy in January 1747. Shortly after having restarted officially his work he suddenly died due to the takings resulting from the above mentioned uncertain situation.
In his time Josias Weitbrecht was considered one of the most important anatomists. He described first and foremost the construction and function of the intervertebral disc
Intervertebral disc
Intervertebral discs lie between adjacent vertebrae in the spine. Each disc forms a cartilaginous joint to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, and acts as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together.-Structure:...
. Some special foramina
Vertebral foramen
In a typical vertebra, the vertebral foramen is the foramen formed by the anterior segment , and the posterior part, the vertebral arch....
, ligament
Ligament
In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...
s, cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
s and fibres were named after him. Furthermore in winter 1738 he recalibrated the Delisle thermometers, which usually had 2400 graduations, to a new Delisle scale
Delisle scale
The Delisle scale is a temperature scale invented in 1732 by the French astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle . Delisle was the author of Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire et aux progrès de l'Astronomie, de la Géographie et de la Physique .He had been invited to Russia by Peter the Great...
with 0 degrees as the boiling point
Boiling point
The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....
and 150 degrees as the freezing point
Freezing Point
Freezing Point is a news journal in the People's Republic of China which has been the subject of controversy over its criticism of Communist Party officials and the sympathetic ear it lent to a Chinese historian who had criticized official history textbooks...
of water. The Delisle thermometer remained in use for almost 100 years in Russia. Altogether 21 articles, where he described his researches, are the basis of new cognitions and he used an excellent style of the Latin language.
Josias Weitbrecht married Katharina Sophia Duran from Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and with her had two sons and two daughters.
Works (optional)
- Syndesmologia sive historia ligamentorum corporis humani quam secundum observationes anatomicas concinnavit et figuris ad objecta recentia adumbratis illustravit. Typographia academiae scientiarum, Petropoli (Petersburg) 1742; in Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
: http://lccn.loc.gov/06013384, auch als Mikrofiche-Ausgabe. - Syndesmology; or, A description of the ligaments of the human body, arranged in accordance with anatomical dissections and illustrated with figures drawn from fresh subjects. Translated by Emanuel B. Kaplan in Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
: http://lccn.loc.gov/68023686. - Josias Weitbrechts, ... Syndesmologie. Oder die Beschreibung der Bänder des menschlichen Körpers, in einen vollständigen Auszug gebracht, und mit allen dazu gehörigen Figuren versehen. König, Straßburg 1779
- Desmographie ou description des ligamens du corps humain. Durand, Paris 1752; in Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
: http://lccn.loc.gov/85664759.
Sources
- August HirschAugust HirschAugust Hirsch was a German physician and medical historian.-Biography:He practiced in Danzig after studying at Berlin and Leipzig. In recognition of his studies on malarial fever and his work, Handbuch der historisch-geographischen Pathologie, he was in 1863 made professor at Berlin...
; additioned by Wilhelm Haberling, Franz Hübotter, Hermann Vierordt: Biographisches Lexikon der hervorragenden Ärzte aller Zeiten und Völker. 2nd Edition, part 5, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin und Wien 1934. - Josias Weitbrecht in Johann Heinrich ZedlerJohann Heinrich ZedlerJohann Heinrich Zedler was a bookseller and publisher. His most important achievement was the creation of a German encyclopedia, the Grosses Universal-Lexicon ,...
s: Grosses vollständiges Universal-LexiconGrosses vollständiges Universal-LexiconThe Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste is a 68-volume German encyclopedia published by Johann Heinrich Zedler between 1731 and 1754...
aller Wissenschafften und Künste, Seite 748: http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~zedler/zedler2007/blaettern/einzelseite.html?seitenzahl=748&bandnummer=54&dateiformat=1&supplement=0&view=100