Paul Langerhans was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pathologistPathology 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....
, physiologist and
biologistBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
Eponymous terms
- Islets of Langerhans
The islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine cells. Discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans at the age of 22, the islets of Langerhans constitute approximately 1 to 2% of the mass of the pancreas...
- PancreaticThe pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
cellsThe cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
which produce insulinInsulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
. Langerhans discovered these cells during his studies for his doctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
at the Berlin Pathological Institute in 1869.
- Langerhans cell
Langerhans cells are dendritic cells of the skin and mucosa, and contain large granules called Birbeck granules. They are present in all layers of the epidermis, but are most prominant in the stratum spinosum. They also occur in the papillary dermis, particularly around blood vessels, as well as...
s - Skin cells concerned with the immune responseAn immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
and which sometimes contain Langerhans granulesIn cell biology, a granule is a small particle. It can be any structure barely visible by light microscopy. The term is most often used to describe a secretory vesicle.-Leukocytes:...
. In 1868, Langerhans used the technique taught to him by Julius Friedrich Cohnheim to stain a sample of human skin with gold chlorideGold chloride, traditionally called auric chloride, is a chemical compound of gold and chlorine. With the molecular formula Au2Cl6, the name gold trichloride is a simplification, referring to the empirical formula. The Roman numerals in the name indicate that the gold has an oxidation state of +3,...
and identified the cells which bear his nameLangerhans cells are dendritic cells of the skin and mucosa, and contain large granules called Birbeck granules. They are present in all layers of the epidermis, but are most prominant in the stratum spinosum. They also occur in the papillary dermis, particularly around blood vessels, as well as...
. From their appearance, Langerhans believed they were nerve cells. However they are a form of dendritic cells.
- Layer of Langerhans - In the same paper in which he described Langerhans cells (dendritic cells), he described the granular cells in the exterior portion of the Malpighian layer of the epidermis, the stratum granulosum otherwise known as the Layer of Langerhans.
- Langerin
CD207, langerin is a protein which in humans is encoded by the CD207 gene. Langerin is a type II transmembrane cell surface receptor produced by Langerhans cells.-Function:...
- CD207, langerin (Cluster of Differentiation 207) is a protein which in humans is encoded by the CD207 gene. It is expressed in the Birebeck granules of Langerhans cells.
Early education
Langerhans was born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
on July 25, 1847, the son of a
physicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. He later entered the renowned Graues Kloster in the same city. Due to his outstanding performance he was exempted from the final oral examinations. He began his medical studies at the University of Jena and completed them in Berlin.
Major scientific contributions
In February 1869, he presented a thesis entitled “Contributions to the microscopic anatomy of the
pancreasThe pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
”, in which he refers to
islands of clear cells throughout the gland, staining differently than the surrounding tissue. He noticed that these areas were more richly innervated, but he could not suggest a function, except for the incorrect hypothesis that they might be
lymph nodeA lymph node is a small ball or an oval-shaped organ of the immune system, distributed widely throughout the body including the armpit and stomach/gut and linked by lymphatic vessels. Lymph nodes are garrisons of B, T, and other immune cells. Lymph nodes are found all through the body, and act as...
s.
One year before, still as an
undergraduateUndergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
, he analysed
epidermal skin cells as part of an open competition organised by
Berlin UniversityThe Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
. The
branched skin cells resembling neuron, described in his paper entitled “On the nerves of the human skin”, remained an enigma for over a century before their immunological function and significance were recognised.
Early career & disease
After graduation, he accompanied the geographer
Richard KiepertRichard Kiepert was a German cartographer born in Weimar. He was the son of famed geographer Heinrich Kiepert .-Biography:...
to
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
,
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and western
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, but returned to Europe at the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
and later served in an ambulance unit in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1871,
Rudolf VirchowRudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...
arranged a position for him as prosector in
pathological anatomyPathology 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....
at the University of Freiburg, and within two years he became a full professor. It was there in 1874 that he contracted
tuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, very likely because of his work in the dissecting room. In search of a cure, he travelled to
NaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
,
PalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, the island of
CapriCapri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, and underwent treatments at
DavosDavos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
and
SilvaplanaSilvaplana is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden and the name of a lake in the municipality.-History:...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, but all in vain: he was forced to apply for release from his university duties.
Consequences, Madeira & marriage
In October 1875 he embarked for
FunchalFunchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
on the island of
MadeiraMadeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, where he made a partial recovery and launched himself into a new career with undiminished energy. He began studying marine worms, making regular trips down to the harbour to pick over the fishermens’ nets. His publications describing and classifying marine invertebrates deserve to rank as his third contribution to science. In 1887, he gave a lecture on these topics to the Royal Academy in Berlin.
He practised as a physician in Funchal, treating mostly fellow tuberculosis-suffers, and published scientific papers about the condition in Virchow’s archive. Not content with this, he also wrote a handbook for travellers to the island, and pursued studies in
meteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
.
In 1885, he married Margarethe Ebart, the widow of one of his patients. They travelled to Berlin for the wedding, and he met his father, sisters and two brothers for the last time. The newly-weds rented Quinta Lambert, known as the most beautiful villa in Funchal and now the governor’s residence. In the words of his new bride “three indescribably happy years” followed.
Death
In autumn of 1887, progressive renal failure brought his medical activities to an end. He developed leg
oedemaEdema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
, crippling headaches and transient memory loss. Sometimes he stopped in the middle of a sentence and was unable to continue. He died of
uraemiaUremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....
on July 20, 1888, five days before his 41st birthday. He is buried in the British cemetery on Madeira, a place he had chosen, describing it as a “true graveyard, isolated and quiet, a good place to rest”.