Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz

  Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz (born October 6, 1836, Hehlen an der Weser, Braunschweig, Germany; died January 23, 1921, Berlin) was a German anatomist, famous for consolidating the neuron theory of organization of the nervous system and for naming the chromosome. He is also known through two anatomical structures of the human body which bear his name: Waldeyer's gland and Waldeyer's tonsillar ring (the lymphoid tissue ring of the nasopharynx).

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The neuron theory

Weldeyer is honoured in the neurosciences as the founder, in 1891, of the so-called "neuron theory" and for coining the term "neuron" to describe the basic structural unit of the nervous system. To consolidate and postulate his theory, Waldeyer used the path-breaking discoveries by neuroanatomists (and later Nobel Prize winners) Camillo Golgi (1843-1926) and Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934), who had used the silver nitrate method of staining nerve tissue (Golgi's method). This method allowed them to study in exquisite detail the branching processes of nerve cells (axons and dendrites) and how they seemed to interconnect among themselves, forming chains and neural networks which could explain the physiological mechanisms underlying the phenomena of information transfer between neurons. Waldeyer learned Spanish in order to absorb Cajal's extraordinary detailed studies using Golgi's method and became his friend, mentor and promoter in the German-dominated field of microscopic anatomy. The theory was published in a series of papers in the main medical journal of Germany, Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift, which became extremely influential. However, as Cajal points out, though Waldeyer "supported the theory with the prestige of his authority, he did not contribute a single personal observation. He limited himself to a short brilliant exposition of the objective proofs, adduced by His, Kolliker, Retzius, van Gehuchten and myself, and he invented the fortunate term neuron. " ^[1] Cajal's continuing hard work on the following decade was able to prove many aspects of the neuron theory, including the directionality of synaptic transmission, and ultimately Cajal won over Golgi on their dispute on the contiguity vs. continuity of neuron cell contacts.

Cytology and embryology

Waldeyer also studied the basophilic stained filaments which had been found to be the main constituents of chromatin, the material inside the cell nucleus, by his colleague of Kiel, Walther Flemming (1843-1905). Although its significance for genetics and for cell biology was still to be discovered, these filaments were known to be involved in the phenomenon of cell division discovered by Flemming, named mitosis. as well as in meiosis. He coined in 1888 the term “chromosome” (1888) to describe them.

Among his myriad other anatomical and embryological studies, von Waldeyer became known for his pioneering research on the development of teeth and hair, many of the terms he invented still in use today. He also published the first embryological, anatomical and functional studies about the naso-oro-pharyngeal lymphatic tissue, which received his name.

Bibliography

• Über Karyokinese und ihre Beziehungen zu den Befruchtungsvorgängen. Archiv für mikroskopische Anatomie und Entwicklungsmechanik, 1888, 32: 1-122. Paper about mitosis and chromosomes.
• Ueber einige neuere Forschungen im Gebiete der Anatomie des Centralnervensystems. Deutsche medicinische Wochenschrift, Berlin, 1891: 17: 1213-1218, 1244-1246, 1287-1289, 1331-1332, 1350-1356. (About some new researches in the field of anatomy of the central nervous system). His most famous statement and summary of the neuron theory.
• W. von Waldeyer-Hartz: Lebenserinnerungen. Bonn, 1920; 2nd edition; Bonn, 1921; 3rd edition, 1922. His memoirs.

References

1. ^ Cajal, S. Ramón y. (1954) Neuron theory or reticular theory: Objective evidence of the anatomical unity of nerve cells. Transl. MU Purkiss and CA Fox. Madrid:Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas.