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Introduction: Anatomy textbooks´ connection to the rigid censoring laws enacted by Habsburg rulers, was never sufficiently investigated. Using anatomy textbooks written at the University of Vienna, our article aims at investigating the influence of censorship laws on the anatomy textbooks in Vienna between 1786 and 1865., Methods: In our case study we compared legal text and archival sources (source material A) with seven prefaces of textbooks written by Viennese anatomists (source material B). The prefaces were comparatively investigated by applying the following questions based on source material A: (1) What motives for writing the textbooks were indicated by the anatomists in the prefaces? (2) What legal or other influences were mentioned as motives that point to a connection to the censorship regulations installed? (3) Referring to changing censorship guidelines is there a change in the mentioned audience?, Results: Our results are that we found evidence for censorship regulations (source material A) in the prefaces (source material B). Also, the motives for writing those textbooks changed over time because of changing censorship regulations., Conclusion: Our findings show that Viennese anatomy textbooks were part of the Austrian censorship laws in the investigated period with a timely correlation between the appointment as professor and the publication of the textbooks and prefaces (indirectly) referring to censorship laws. The academic tradition of writing textbooks arose from this system, when freedom of speech stood in opposition to the absolute Habsburg reign. Thus, when working with historical anatomy textbooks it is important to reflect on their censorship heritage., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Background: The phrenicoabdominal branch of the left phrenic nerve passes between muscle fiber bundles within the costal part of the diaphragm near the pericardium. In most German textbooks of anatomy, however, its passage is described to be found in the esophageal hiatus. The aim of this study was to reevaluate its topography relative to the diaphragm in a multicentric study and to identify the initiation of this description., Methods: In this multicentric study, the most dorsomedial branch of the left phrenic nerve was identified as the phrenicoabdominal branch in 400 embalmed anatomic specimens of Caucasian origin. The distance between its passage and the apex of the pericardium, the left border of the esophageal hiatus, and the inner aspect of the left sixth rib was measured on the cranial aspect of the diaphragm. Textbooks on human anatomy published in German language between 1700 and 2018 were reviewed for their description of the passage of the left phrenicoabdominal branch through the diaphragm., Results: The first statement on the passage of the left phrenicoabdominal branch through the esophageal hiatus was given in 1791 by Sömmering. Since then, in German textbooks of anatomy, a duality in the description of the passage of the left phrenicoabdominal branch persists. In none of the individuals examined in this study, the left phrenicoabdominal branch passed through the esophageal hiatus. In 99.5% of all cases, it pierced the costal part of the diaphragm dorsal to or at the same level as the apex of the pericardium. The mean distances (standard deviations) were 3.4 (±1.5) cm to the apex of the pericardium, 5.8 (±2.2) cm to the esophageal hiatus, and 5.5 (±1.6) cm to the inner aspect of the left sixth rib., Conclusion: The findings on the position of the left phrenicoabdominal branch relative to the diaphragm help to improve topographical knowledge and prevent inadvertent nerve injury during surgical interventions on or near the diaphragm. Further to this, these results may form a substantial basis to adopt the correct description of the passage of the left phrenicoabdominal branch to anatomical textbook knowledge., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Since Vienna University's 1997/98 inquiry into the background of Eduard Pernkopf's anatomical atlas, German and Austrian anatomical institutes have been forced to confront their past, particularly the widespread procurement of bodies of victims of National Socialism. This paper focuses on the Anatomical Institute in Innsbruck, which received bodies from an unusually broad array of sources: from prisoners executed at Stadelheim Prison in Munich, prisoners of war from three different camps, military personnel sentenced to death by martial courts, patients from a psychiatric hospital, and several bodies of Jewish Holocaust victims. As in other comparable cases, these bodies were used for scientific publications and medical teaching until long after the war. The Anatomical Institute's collection is currently undergoing a detailed analysis in order to identify any human remains dating from the Nazi period. At the Institute of Histology and Embryology, recent research has led to the discovery of approximately 200 histological slides pertaining to at least five individuals who had been executed under the Nazi regime. In a number of cases, the specimens had been provided by Prof. Max Clara, head of the Leipzig Institute of Anatomy. This study is based on an analysis of the Innsbruck Anatomical Institute's unusually detailed records and numerous documents from various archives, including files pertaining to an inquiry into the institute held after the war by the French occupation authorities., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Very often, descriptions of the scientific discovery of the lymphatic system start with Gaspare Aselli, probably because of his so captivating account. Nevertheless, there was prior and even very old evidence of the lymphatic vessels, which was of course known to Aselli himself, as he cited most of these antique references. In fact, the first insights were contributed by the Hippocratic School. The Alexandrian School added quite a lot but unfortunately most of that knowledge is not extant and can only be appreciated by translations or citations by other authors such as Galen. The 'dark' middle ages did not add to the anatomical knowledge of the lymphatics, and only the rise of the Renaissance brought new insights. Even at that time, Aselli was not the first to identify at least some components of the lymphatic system, but he was actually the first to present a proper account in a book dedicated to the "lacteal veins". Afterwards the interest rose enormously and cumulated in one of the first priority - or plagiarism - disputes, the Rudbeck-Bartholin feud. Surprisingly, William Harvey, the discoverer of the systemic blood circulation, ignored, at least in part, the progress of the discoveries in lymphatic circulation. This narrative review tries to summarize the major contributions to the anatomical knowledge of the lymphatic system from the ancient times up to the end of the European Renaissance., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The system of anatomical body procurement had to be reorganized in Germany after the end of the Second World War. At that time, the country had been split up and, in its Western zones of occupation, which eventually would form the Federal Republic of Germany, a democratic form of government was reintroduced. While political and economic conditions were improving, well-known obstacles of sufficient body supply turned out to be increasingly complicated to overcome. This development led to the dissolution of the traditional system of body procurement which had, during the centuries and political systems, always depended on the state. From the 1960s onwards, it became solely reliant on willed body donations. The article deals with the question how this fundamental change came to be, and which motives and arguments on the side of the anatomists as well as the administration were crucial for the final decision of limiting body procurement to willed donations. Using the example of the anatomical institute of Munich University, it is possible not only to highlight the political process of dealing with the problem of anatomical body procurement after 1945. Additionally, the quantitative changes in body supply resulting from those developments will be presented and analyzed. Thereby it can be displayed how the dissolution of the traditional system meant the solution of its inherent problems., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Due to its accessible position and tissue heterogeneity, the eye is ideally suited for studying the lymphatic system. As early as the 19th century, questions about the origin and function of this system were discussed. For example, whether Schlemm's canal, which is of particular importance in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, is a lymphatic vessel, or does this vascular system begin with finger-shaped protuberances? Despite the discovery of lymphatic endothelial molecules and the use of molecular imaging technologies, these questions are still discussed controversially today. Leber demonstrated in 1873 with a solution consisting of two dyes of different particle size that only the smaller particles from the anterior chamber of the eye filled the episcleral and conjunctival veins around the corneal margin. He believed to have proven - to be read in the historical review of our article - that the Canalis Schlemmii in humans is a venous circular vessel and not a lymphatic vessel. In our own investigations, we reduced the rather contradictory and complex question of whether there are lymphatic vessels in the eye to the question of whether there are drainage connections between the different sections of the eye and the lymphatic system or not. With different radioactive tracers and combined with unilateral ligation of cervical lymph vessels, we observed outflow from the subconjunctival and retrobulbar space, from the anterior chamber and the vitreous body. The rate of discharge of the radioactive tracer was determined by the radiopharmaceutical and injection site. In analogy to the lymphatic drainage of the head we found a segmental drainage of lymphatic substances on the eye. Vitreous humour and retrobulbar space were drained by lymphatic vessels, predominantly to the deep cervical lymph nodes, while anterior chamber and subconjunctival space drains predominated over the superficial cervical lymph nodes. Eyeball tattoos - as loved by some fan communities - should therefore cause a coloured staining of the superficial cervical lymph nodes. The boundary of the drained segments would be in the area of the eyeball's equator. According to the textbooks, the lymph is actively removed from finger-shaped initial segments via pre-collectors and collectors with properly functioning intraluminal valves and smooth muscle cells in the vessels' media. In patients with spontaneous conjunctival bleeding, however, we observed phenomena in the conjunctival lymph vessels, which ca not be explained with old familiar ideas. At nozzle-shaped vessel constrictions separation of blood components occurred. The erythrocytes formed partially a so-called fluidic "resting bulk layer". Parallel vessel parts caused a retrograde filling of already emptied segments. These observations led our experimental investigations. In the literature, there are different scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of lymphatic endothelial surfaces; nevertheless they are unassigned to a particular vessel segment. In the conjunctiva, we studied the question whether there is a dependence between vessel diameter and the surface characteristics of endothelial cells (after unfolding by lymphography). A constantly applied photo-mathematical procedure for all specimens allowed determining the size of the cross sections. The specimens were randomized into seven groups with diameters of 0.1-1.0mm and above and examined by SEM. In the smallest vessels (diameter=0.11mm), the impressions of the occasionally occurring nuclei in the lumen were clearly impressive. With increasing diameter, these impressions were lost and the individual endothelial nuclei could no longer be identified. Rather, one recognized only wall-like structures. In vessels of intermediate diameter (0.3-0.4mm), structures could be seen on the surface similar to reticular fibres. With increasing diameters, their prominent character weakened. In the group with diameters above 0.5mm, wavy surface structures were shown. Finally, in vessels of diameters over 1.0mm, a uniform, flat surface was observed. Regardless of the collection site of the specimens, we found certain surface characteristics related to the vessels' calibre. In further investigations by means of interstitial dye lymphography, we were able to demonstrate in the conjunctiva that under increasing injection pressure, additional vessels stained from finger-shaped processes. At least in the conjunctiva, the existence of so-called "blind-ending initial segments" seems doubtful (despite the fact that initial segments or "initial lymphatics" would begin in periphery, not end). Rather, these are likely to be temporary filling states. SEM investigations were carried out on the internal structure of these dome-shaped vessel parts by means of a specially developed preparation technique. Despite numerous variants in the lymphographic design of the blind bags - in the form of finger, balloon, dome, piston, pyramidal, double-humped and spearhead-like endings - slot-shaped, lip-shaped and saw blade-like structures were repeatedly found, similar to a zipper. These findings suggest preformed connections to the next segment and may control lymphatic flow. To clarify the retrograde fluid movements, we examined the lymph vessels' valves or those structures that were previously interpreted as valves. The different structures found could be subdivided into three groups. The lack of common bicuspid structures provides an explanation for retrograde fluid movement. That nevertheless a directional flow is possible, is explained by the flow model developed by Gerhart Liebau. Conjunctival lymphatics show intraluminal structures by double contrast injection, which we divided into four groups due to anatomical differences: An accurate statement about the occurrence of certain intraluminal vascular structures in certain vascular calibres was possible only conditionally. However, complex and extended structures (group d) were found almost exclusively in larger vessel calibres (diameter>0.9mm). The structures are reminiscent of published findings in the "collector channel orifices of Schlemm's canal". They should play an important role in the regulation of the intraocular pressure, or the balance between production and outflow of the aqueous humour. The influence of such structures on the function of the lymphatic vessels is not yet known. As an approach models could be used, which for instance are applied in the water industry for the drainage, the degradation of introduced substances, or the detention pond. The latter serves for the retention and purification of drainage water (storage, treatment and reuse of drainage water). Dead zones, barriers, short-circuit currents and swirling are further hydraulic terms. Can intraluminal vascular structures, for example, affect the lymphatic flow and thus the mechano-sensitivity of lymphatic endothelial cells? Whatever interpretation model we use, the warning of the Swiss anatomist His from 1862 is still true today that all theories about the formation and movement of lymph should be based on precise anatomical basics. This review article therefore tries to make a contribution therefore. Despite knowing of lymphatic endothelial molecules, despite the discovery of the role of lymphangiogenic growth factors in diseases and the use of molecular imaging technologies, we still know too little about the anatomy and function of the lymphatic system., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

This article details our experience with the Terminologia Histologica (TH) and its utility in the teaching of histology, cytology, and clinical medicine (e.g., pathology and hematology). Latin histological nomenclature has been used for 43years, and the latest version of the TH has been in use for 15years (although it was only issued publicly within the past 10years). The following findings and ensuing proposals allow us to discuss key points pertaining to the TH and make important suggestions for potential changes to the TH (such as the exclusion and inclusion of various terms). We classify these changes into six groups: 1.) mistakes in the TH, 2.) discrepancies among various Terminologiae, 3.) discrepancies within the TH, 4.) the repetition of terms, 5.) synonyms in the TH, and 6.) missing terms in the TH. Surprisingly, unlike the anatomical nomenclature, the histological nomenclature has been neglected in the literature. This article addresses this problem by reviewing and summarizing the state of this field, pointing out key discrepancies, offering solutions, and highlighting topics for further discussion., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

William Hunter along with his brother, John, and their colleagues William Hewson, William Cruikshank and John Sheldon made a large contribution to understanding of lymphatic vessels. Hewson, Cruikshank and Sheldon all carried out mercury injections and made much progress in mapping the distribution of lymphatics in the human body. William Hunter appreciated that lymphatics absorbed fluid from the tissues of the body and that lacteals of the intestine and lymphatics are similar structures. John Hunter carried out an elegant series of experiments that proved that lacteals absorb products of digestion. The Hunters, however, were wrong in dismissing absorption by blood vessels and missed the importance of blood capillaries. William Hewson showed that lymphatics were not confined to mammals but that they are present in reptiles, birds and fish. Hewson also demonstrated that tracheobronchial glands are lymph nodes and not mucus-secreting glands as previously thought. Although William Hunter appreciated that tuberculosis and venereal diseases might involve the regional lymph nodes, he does not seem to have fully grasped that malignant disease might involve the local nodes or the concept that knowledge of lymph drainage could be used to define the likely site of a primary malignancy., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Introduction: To date, there has been no study examining the perceptions of first-year medical students regarding Eduard Pernkopf's atlas, particularly during their study of gross anatomy and prior to coursework in medical ethics. We present a discussion of Pernkopf's Atlas: Topographical Anatomy of Man from the perspective of U.S. medical students, and sought to determine whether medical students view Pernkopf's Topographical Anatomy of Man as a resource of greater accuracy, detail, and potential educational utility as compared to Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy., Methods: The entire first-year class at Drexel University College of Medicine (265 students) was surveyed at approximately the midpoint of their gross anatomy course and 192 responses were collected (72% response rate)., Results: Of these, 176 (95%) were unaware of the existence of Pernkopf's atlas. Another 71% of students found the Pernkopf atlas more likely complete and accurate, whereas 76% thought the Netter atlas more useful for learning (p<.001). When presented with a hypothetical scenario in which the subjects used in creating Pernkopf's atlas were donated, or unclaimed, but with knowledge that Pernkopf was an active member of the Nazi party, 133 students (72%) retained their original position (p=.001). About 94% desired discussion of Pernkopf within a medical school bioethics course. The relationship between level of self-reported knowledge and whether or not students would advocate removal of the atlas was statistically significant (p=.013)., Conclusion: Discussing ethical violations in medical history, especially the Pernkopf atlas, must attain a secure place in medical school curricula, and more specifically, within a bioethics course., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

During the reign of National Socialism (NS) anatomical institutes regularly received bodies of executed prisoners in steadily increasing numbers. After 1939, the execution site at Stadelheim prison in Munich supplied not only Munich anatomy but also the institutes in Erlangen, Innsbruck and Würzburg. Due to the disappearance of the Munich body journals, the exact dimension and procedure of body procurement from Stadelheim remained unknown for 70 years. After consultation of a wide range of sources, including rediscovered fragments of the body journals, it is now possible to give an almost comprehensive account of the developments. This article deals with the attempts at recovering information on body procurement from Stadelheim prison during the NS period, which already indicated the significance of Munich anatomy in organizing the distribution of bodies. Thereafter, it addresses the number and distinct groups of Stadelheim prisoners, executed and delivered to the four anatomical institutes, the differences in the handling of their bodies, and the extent to which in particular Munich anatomy profited from the massive increase in executions. Finally, it unveils the role of the Munich Anatomical Institute in distributing those bodies among the anatomies during the Second World War, making it not only the main beneficiary but also the interim center of this process., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Anatomische Gesellschaft, an international Germany-based association of anatomists, was closed down in 1945, after the end of the "Third Reich". It was eventually re-founded in 1949, continuing its tradition from its foundation in 1886, based in large part on the membership prior to 1945. Newly available archival material reveals, however, that at least six members were explicitly prevented from re-joining the society. This includes Max Clara, who was accused of plagiarism and, at least implicitly, of basing his career on Nazi party support. It also includes Eugen Fischer, a leading anthropologist of the Nazi period, who was seen to be indirectly responsible for Nazi crimes like forced sterilisation or extermination of "anthropologically defined" groups of people. Therefore, Fischer's honorary membership, which had already been published in the membership directory, was revoked after a heated internal debate. Nevertheless, these exclusions cannot be interpreted as a self-directed "denazification" of the Anatomische Gesellschaft, as political activity in line with the Nazis was not the main criterion for these exclusions. Incidentally, the archival sources also reveal that Wolfgang Bargmann, who had been elected as the first post-war secretary of the Gesellschaft in 1949, resigned from this post after only one year in office because his management of this "Fischer affair" was felt to be too autocratic., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Anatomical Institute at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg is among the anatomical departments for which a comprehensive account of its history during National Socialism (NS) is still missing. Previous investigations (such as in: Grün et al., 2002) have revealed the political activities of some anatomists, but, in the absence of relevant body-registers, a more comprehensive examination of the anatomical body procurement has not been attempted. The inspection of records in university and municipal archives allows insight into the activities in the institute within the historical context. The Freiburg Institute shared the experience of the impact of NS politics with other German anatomies. Four anatomists were dismissed because of NS racial discrimination, and chairman von Möllendorf left for political reasons. His successor Nauck's appointment was politically motivated, as he was a staunch Nazi. His colleagues were also members of NS political organizations. Body procurement was controversial between the public and the anatomists in Freiburg prior to and following the Third Reich, and much of the anatomists' efforts focused on the improvement of the body supply. In 1935, and, again during the war, the number of bodies was sufficient for anatomical education. Among the traditional sources of body procurement were increasing numbers of NS victims. Forty-four of them can be identified, among them 21 forced laborers and their children who died of so-called natural causes, and 22 men who had been executed at Stuttgart prison on April 6, 1943. While the victims' names have been ascertained, their biographies still need restoration to ensure an appropriate commemoration., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

This is the first comprehensive account of body procurement at the Anatomical Institute at Greifswald University during National Socialism (NS). As in all other German anatomical departments, the bodies received during this period included increasing numbers of victims of the NS regime. Prior to 1939, 90% of all bodies came from hospitals, state nursing homes and mental institutions (Heil- und Pflegeanstalten), but dropped to less than 30% after 1941. While the total catchment area for body procurement decreased, the number of suppliers increased and included prisons, POW camps, Gestapo offices and military jurisdiction authorities. Among the 432 documented bodies delivered to the institute, 132 came from state nursing homes and mental institutions, mainly from Ueckermünde. These were bodies of persons, who probably were victims of "euthanasia" crimes. The Anatomical Institute also procured 46 bodies of forced laborers, of whom at least twelve had been executed. Other groups of victims included 21 bodies of executed Wehrmacht soldiers and 16 Russian prisoners of war from the camp Stalag II C in Greifswald, who had died of starvation and exhaustion. From 1941 onwards, the number of bodies delivered from prisons and penitentiaries greatly increased. In total, 60 bodies of prisoners, mainly from the penitentiary in Gollnow, were delivered to the Anatomical Institute. Greifswald Anatomical Institute was not just a passive recipient of bodies from all of these sources, but the anatomists actively lobbied with the authorities for an increased body supply for teaching and research purposes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

August Hirt (1898-1945) was director of the Institute of Anatomy of the Reichsuniversität Strassburg from November 1941 to November 1944. During this period, he was involved in many criminal activities: mustard gas experiments on prisoners of KL Natzweiler-Struthof, creating a collection of Jewish skeletons by gassing 86 Jews from KL Auschwitz in the Struthof-Natzweiler gas chamber, and involvement in experiments on phosgene gas performed by Otto Bickenbach. Extensive literature exists on these crimes. However, there has been very little work completed on the so-called normal activity of the Institute of Anatomy of which he was head and in particular the question of deliveries of corpses. We estimate that between 244 and 724 bodies were delivered to the Anatomical Institute of the Reichsuniversität Strassburg between 1942 and 1944. In the course of our investigations, we have determined the identity of 232 corpses received between 1942 and 1944, the vast majority of Soviet prisoners of war from two hospitals for prisoners of war (Strassburg and Mutzig). Other sources of dead bodies have been found, such as hospital patients and French citizens who had been executed by shooting. Most of the corpses were used for dissection by medical students, but many anatomical preparations were also made from the bodies. The bodies were buried during and after the war, but the fate of the anatomical and histological specimens is unknown. Newly discovered archival record allowed us to identify and find three jars with tissues from the 86 gassed Jews. These pieces were in the Museum of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Strasbourg. At this point the following proposals are made: (1) opening of the Medical Faculty of Strasbourg archives, (2) creation of an historical commission, (3) identification and publication of the complete inventory of all preparations at the Strasbourg Anatomical Museum, (4) research of the fate of the dry and wet preparations made under National Socialism, (5) verification of histological slides, embryological specimens and the tissues from the institutes already existing under National Socialism, (6) verification of the pieces of the Museum of Forensic Medicine, (7) publications of these results and information of the press and (8) creation of a memorial for the victims of the NS delivered to the Institute of Anatomy., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

August Hirt (1898-1945) has achieved macabre renown for atrocities perpetrated during his years as professor of anatomy at the Reichsuniversität Straßburg 1941-1945. Little, however, is known about his preceding scientific career. To fill this gap and to scrutinise whether he really was a mediocre scientist during his early years, as some have purported, we perused relevant historical archives and the available literature. In 1921, after medical school, Hirt started to research and teach at the Institute of Anatomy in Heidelberg, forging a steady career until becoming interim chair in 1935. He then became director of anatomical institutes in Greifswald 1936 and Frankfurt 1938 before going to Straßburg in 1941. Hirt seems to have been well-established in the community of anatomists. Some of his career advancements after 1933 were nevertheless facilitated by Nazi support. His main scientific fields were the autonomic nervous system, in which he produced a relevant contribution to anatomical knowledge, and fluorescence microscopy. His development of a special "luminescence microscope", in cooperation with pharmacologist Ellinger, was an important advancement in the history of microscopic technique. His early research was funded by national and international sponsoring bodies and was neither unethical nor racist. As Hirt did not publish anything after 1940, those who only knew his publications might think of him as a "good" scientist. To simply dismiss Hirt as a "pseudoscientist" would avoid the question-still difficult to answer-of how he could develop from an accepted, successful anatomist to a criminal "in the name of science"., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

In order to be able to understand how body supply was maintained at the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie from 1933 to 1945 - with special emphasis on victims of the National Socialist regime - we have collected information from various and often fragmentary sources. The documents reveal that during this period at least 474 bodies were brought to the anatomical institute. Among them were the bodies of at least 71 prisoners, 51 of whom had been executed, and the bodies of 8 inmates of (labor-) camps. 356 unclaimed bodies were received, some of them may stem from victims of "euthanasia" programs. The sources of 39, as of yet, unnamed bodies could not be verified. The current collections and the catalogs were screened for remains of victims of the National Socialist regime, but none were found. The vast majority of the bodies were used for teaching purposes. Hans Schreiber, one of the directors of the institute, whose biography is provided here, used at least 9 additional executed individuals for his research. Wherever possible, we have identified the victims of the National Socialist regime, executed persons and the inmates of (labor-) camps, whose bodies were used by the anatomists in Frankfurt, by name. Among the victims was Georg Fröba, a communist philanthropist, whose biography is provided., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Until recently, it was believed that all internal documentation regarding student affairs and body procurement of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie concerning the time before March 1944 - when the building was destroyed during an Allied air raid - was lost. A few years ago, however, we discovered stacks of old documents in the current anatomy building. These documents permitted a reconstruction (1) of the history of body procurement, student numbers and course management from 1914 to 1944, as well as (2) some aspects of the building's history in the time immediately after its destruction that have hitherto not been documented. In this paper (Part I), we will deal with the organizational history of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie from 1914 to 2013, placing special emphasis on the development of the student population and body procurement, as well as on the major changes that occurred in the gross anatomy labs of the last century. More than 30,000 students were trained in the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie over the last 100 years, and more than 3000 bodies have been received. The number of incoming bodies has remained quite stable in all these years and is, on average, approximately 32 per year. The number of students entering the gross anatomy lab during that period, however, rose from less than 100 to more than 600. A companion paper (Part II) deals with the years of the Third Reich (1933-1945) in more detail., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The article analyzes the life and career of the anatomist Titus von Lanz (1897-1967) of Munich focusing on the period of National Socialism (NS). Von Lanz lost his position as an associate professor at the Anatomical Institute of Munich University because of his marriage to a "half-Jewish" woman in 1938. In contrast to most of his colleagues affected by National Socialist measures, von Lanz had opportunities to save his career and made extensive use of them. His story is that of a complicated struggle for the continuation of his work, involving a wide range of supporters from prestigious physicians to high-ranking National Socialist officials as well as the alienation of his colleagues at the Munich department of anatomy. The article tries to clarify these developments through the presentation of his social background, his supporters, his enemies, the research he conducted during NS and von Lanz' own remembrance of these developments from the post-war period. It aims at laying out a critical appreciation of his motives and actions, thereby contributing to the understanding of individual behavior of anatomists under NS., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Anatomical Institute of the University of Cologne was founded in 1925. This paper highlights its institutional development and the sources from which it procured bodies for dissection. A comparison is drawn between the first years of the institute's existence during the Weimar Republic (1925-1932) and its rebuilding after war damage in the early post-war period (1947-1954). The institute and its procurement of bodies have not previously been investigated for these two time periods. The Third Reich, for which a detailed study already exists, will be mentioned as well to allow better evaluation of the periods before and after National Socialism. Based on newly evaluated archival material and body journals which will be examined both quantitatively and qualitatively, it becomes apparent that the Cologne institute experienced a chronic shortage of bodies both during the Weimar Republic and the first post-war decade (even though the delivery facilities were mostly the same). However, the situation of the institute in terms of structure, organization and personnel as well as body supply in the aftermath of World War II proved much more challenging than during the time of the Weimar Republic., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Translation facilitates transmission of knowledge between cultures. The fundamental transfer of anatomic terminology from the Ancient Greek and Islamic Golden Age cultures, to medieval Latin Christendom took place in the so-called Toledo School of Translators in the 12th-13th centuries. Translations made in Toledo circulated widely across Europe. They were the foundation of scientific thinking that was born in the boards of first universities. In Toledo, Gerard of Cremona translated Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, the key work of Islamic Golden Age of medicine. Albertus Magnus, Mondino de Luzzi and Guy de Chauliac, the leading authors of anatomical Latin words in the Middle Ages, founded their books on Gerard's translations. The anatomical terms of the Canon retain auctoritas up to the Renaissance. Thus, terms coined by Gerard such as diaphragm, orbit, pupil or sagittal remain relevant in the current official anatomical terminology. The aim of the present paper is to bring new attention to the highly significant influence that the Toledo School of Translators had in anatomical terminology. For this, we shall review here the onomastic origins of a number of anatomical terms (additamentum; coracoid process; coxal; false ribs; femur; panniculus; spondylus; squamous sutures; thorax; xiphoid process, etc.) which are still used today., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

This study presents a first exploration of Swedish-German contacts in the field of anatomy between 1930 and 1950, a subject of research that has only recently come into focus. Based on the background of the general cultural and scientific exchange between Sweden and Germany and the biographies of the Swedish anatomist Gösta Häggqvist (1891-1972) and his German colleague Hermann Stieve (1886-1952), this study identifies specific areas of collaboration between anatomists of the two countries. These include mutual professional career advancement, publication of research results, the exchange of technological expertise and transfer of anatomical specimens. The investigation also examines the use of "material" from executed persons in Sweden and Germany as well as public postwar critiques of this practice. Open research questions on Swedish-German interactions in anatomy during this time period are formulated. The contacts between Häggqvist and Stieve give insight into the impact of scientific collaborations and controversial political liaisons in the relationship between Swedish and German science in recent history. The study is based on documents from German and Swedish archives, including Nobel Prize nominations and reports from the Nobel Archive for Physiology or Medicine in Stockholm., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

German anatomical institutes always had problems obtaining sufficient cadavers for research and training. In the National Socialist (NS) period this changed. Universities could count on "extraordinary opportunities for cadaver delivery." Most frequently tacitly, many bodies were those of victims of NS crimes. Scientists increasingly exploited the exceptional political situation to systematically supplement their institutional collections. Their endeavors to fill the, in their terms, "lamentable gaps" in their collections took on truly bizarre forms. In Austria, Jewish cemeteries were plundered for racial-political expansion of anatomical collections. A change in paradigm was merely the next step: intentional murder for the benefit of NS-oriented science. In December of 1942, anatomists meeting in Tübingen discussed plans for "material acquisition." August Hirt, director of the anatomical institute at the Reichsuniversität in Strasbourg, was to develop guidelines. There was express reference to "Auftrag Beger," which had already been conceived although not yet realized: at the behest of Hirt and the SS-scientific organization, "Ahnenerbe," the anthropologists Bruno Beger and Hans Fleischhacker selected 86 Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz in June of 1943 and deported them to the concentration camp at Struthof near Natzweiler, where they were murdered. The bodies were delivered to the anatomy department in Strasbourg for preparation and used as anatomical specimens. The Reichsuniversität Strasbourg was considered a center of excellence for Nazi ideology. For modern scientists, the elucidation of these criminal acts is not exhausted in the search for an answer to the questions of perpetrator, place, modus operandi or motive. A suitable memorial to the victims must go beyond mere quantification., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Anatomische Gesellschaft (anatomical society, AG) was founded in Germany in 1886 as an international society and remains the main organizing body of German anatomists to this day. A previous study of the history of the AG during National Socialism (NS) was based on the published proceedings of the AG and drew the preliminary conclusion that the "AG did not follow the path of preemptive obedience toward the new rulers" in contrast to some other professional societies. However, it was noted that archival sources were needed to support this conclusion and to illustrate the decision process within the society. Such sources are now available in the estate papers of Alfred Benninghoff, a leading anatomist at the time. His correspondence supports the previous finding that the AG was able to maintain its international character, thereby enabling it to avoid the active exclusion of "non-Aryan" members. The papers also confirm that the AG did not defend its vulnerable members as valiantly as the official narrative suggests, a fact illustrated in a controversy surrounding Martin Heidenhain. The interactions and conflicts between the leaders of the AG can now be reconstructed, i.e. between the secretary of the AG Heinrich von Eggeling, Benninghoff and Hermann Stieve. The Benninghoff documents also refer to a meeting of a subsection of the AG in November 1942, at which a disturbing radicalization of some anatomists developed. Finally, the papers reflect the political realities for German professionals trying to re-establish their science in a country divided into four occupation zones., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

None of the existing studies on the history of anatomy in National Socialism (NS) has yet explored the careers of those younger anatomists, whose professional development continued through NS times and who attained prominence in postwar German and Austrian anatomy. As they became modern anatomists' teachers and role models, the revelation that men like Wolfgang Bargmann and Heinrich von Hayek had used bodies of the executed for research in their early careers has recently led to some consternation. This study contributes to the analysis of the moral challenges inherent to a science that relies on work with "material" from human bodies and its interaction with its political environment. The results reveal that Bargmann and Hayek behaved like most other anatomists at the time, in that they used bodies of the executed for research and in that they joined the NS party or other NS political groups. As ambitious and successful young anatomists they may have felt that an early joining of NS affiliations was inevitable for the advancement of their careers. They and most of their colleagues became in some measure complicit with the NS regime. The complicated biographical realities of such luminous postwar figures as Bargmann and Hayek should lead modern anatomists to the questioning of their own ethical and political decisions in politically less demanding times., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

While research into the history of German anatomy under National Socialist rule has increased during the last decade, the story of one of the most important anatomical institutes of the time, the Anatomische Anstalt Munich, has not yet been explored. This study presents the results of an ongoing, cooperative research project at the universities of Halle and Munich and focuses on the history of the institution, its personnel and organization, and its interactions with the National Socialist regime. It reveals continuity and disruption within the institute following Munich anatomists' involvement with the regime's policies and ideology as well as their becoming victims to these policies. Also documented is the manner in which the Munich anatomy benefited from the massive increase in executions, especially during the Second World War, by receiving and using the bodies of prisoners executed at the Stadelheim prison in Munich for scientific purposes. Finally, an outlook is presented regarding planned research aiming to fully understand the history of the Anatomische Anstalt during National Socialism., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

In the 17th century, the Bartholin family contributed greatly to the advancement of anatomical and medical science. Caspar Bartholin the Elder (1585-1629) introduced the terms nervus olfactorius and nervus vagus in 1611 in the Institutiones Anatomicae. Thomas Bartholin (1616-1680) extended their use to figures added to later revised editions of Institutiones Anatomicae., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Historical evidence shows that German anatomists used bodies of executed victims of the National Socialist (NS) regime for anatomical purposes. However, there has been little direct information on these anatomists' thoughts and motivations, and a public discussion of their activities and ethics only started in the late 1980s. The present study documents a unique postwar controversy surrounding the promotion of the anatomist and medical historian Robert Herrlinger at the university of Würzburg in the late 1950s. This intramural debate had originally been mentioned by Goetz Aly in 1987. Herrlinger's files record his career as a representative of the discipline of medical history at the university of Würzburg from 1951 to 1960. He never worked there as an active anatomist. When the university senate applied for his appointment as full professor in 1957, the internist Ernst Wollheim, the pediatrician Joseph Ströder, and the psychiatrist Heinrich Scheller strongly opposed this move in a dissenting opinion based on Herrlinger's anatomical work on bodies of executed NS-victims. They claimed that he lacked the moral prerequisites required in a teacher of medical ethics. A highly controversial debate followed and was remarkable for addressing most of the questions of the ethical and political attitudes and responsibilities of anatomists in NS-Germany that are still being discussed today and are relevant for modern anatomy. It was also significant that Wollheim, Ströder and Scheller objected to Herrlinger in his role as a medical historian, not as an anatomist. The senate finally rejected the dissenting opinion and Herrlinger was promoted., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

One-hundred years ago, the Italian anatomist Giovanni Vitali reported the discovery of the paratympanic organ, a sense organ in the middle ear of birds, in two issues of the Anatomischer Anzeiger (1911, 1912). In this minireview, we summarize Vitali's biography, and examine the scientific impact of his discovery of this sense organ. We also compile - for the first time - the entire bibliography of published papers on the paratympanic organ. Vitali described the ontogenetic development of this sense organ, examined its distribution among species, recognized its evolutionary relationship with the spiracular sense organ of fishes, and he developed the theory that it functions as a detector of changes in air pressure. He was the first to postulate that the paratympanic and spiracular sense organs were homologous organs that originate from homologous placodes - currently a hotly debated topic. His morphological work indicating the sensory nature of the PTO was validated by subsequent ultrastructural studies. Vitali's discovery of the paratympanic organ prompted his nomination for the Nobel Prize in 1934. Nevertheless, the paratympanic organ and the presumed barometric sense of hundreds of billions of living birds have failed to receive the recognition they deserve. Conclusive evidence of the function of the paratympanic organ remains a formidable challenge in vertebrate sensory physiology., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

In the period from 1933 to 1945 the Anatomical Institute in Halle (Saale) received bodies of persons, among them politically persecuted women and men, who had been sentenced to death and executed. In this article, we attempt to answer two important questions: (1) What happened to the bodies of those executed; i.e. which anatomical “purposes” did they serve? (2) Were anatomical specimens from these bodies added to the institute’s anatomical collection and are they still present today? If so, can they be traced back to the bodies of politically persecuted people? So far we have discovered that between 1933 and 1936 the institute received 30 bodies, among them the bodies of two politically motivated death sentences. From 1937 until the end of 1942, only a few bodies arrived at the institute, and from November 1942 until the end of the war in 1945 the institute documented the transfer of 64 bodies of executed people. The death sentences pronounced during those early years were usually based on severe criminal acts (e.g. murder). During the war, special courts sentenced people to death mostly because of theft, looting, etc. The bodies of those executed were used in anatomical education, anatomical research, and in preparations of anatomical specimens to be added to the anatomical collection. There are eight macroscopic preparations which can definitely be associated with the bodies of people executed during the Nazi regime. Trial by jury sentenced those people to the maximum penalty because of the severity of their criminal acts. Up to now we have found no evidence that specimens of the anatomical collection were removed from bodies of victims whose execution was politically motivated., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

This paper is a personal narrative of involvement with the revelations of the use of anatomical and pathological specimens of victims of Nazi terror. The narrative documents responses to the question of the retention and use of anatomical and pathological specimens from victims of Nazi terror by leading academic and scientific institutions and organizations in Germany and Austria including the government of the Federal Republic of (West) Germany, the University of Tübingen, the University of Vienna, the Max Planck Society and the Anatomische Gesellschaft. It begins with the public revelations of 1989 and concludes with the September 2010 Symposium on the History of Anatomy during the Third Reich at the University of Würzburg. The narrative documents a 22-year transition in attitude and responses to the investigation and documentation of the history of anatomy and pathology during the Third Reich. The chronicle includes the 1989 proposed "Call for an International Commemoration" by the author, together with the bioethicist Professor Arthur Caplan, on the occasion of the planned burial of the misbegotten specimens and the responses to that proposal., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

While it is known that the bodies of executed victims of National Socialism (NS) were used for anatomical research and teaching, detailed studies are still missing for many anatomical departments. This analysis focuses on the institutes in Bavaria. From 1933 on the institutes of Munich, Würzburg and Erlangen were actively involved in and competed over the procurement of bodies of NS victims, particularly between 1937 and 1941. While the body supply was sufficient thereafter it became again critical in the first years after the war. During that period, anatomists complained about a lack of bodies for dissection courses and tended to use the corpses remaining from the NS-period for teaching purposes. Their position was supported by the popular view that resistance fighters were seen as traitors to the Fatherland and not as honorable political victims. At the same time, relatives and aid organizations were in search of the dead victims of German terror. These conflicting interests created a situation full of tension, in which Philipp Auerbach, state commissioner for religious, political and racial victims of the Nazis in Bavaria, played a crucial role., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

There is increasing evidence that both during the time of National Socialism, and in the post-World War II-period, the corpses of executed victims of the Nazi regime, as well as body parts taken from them were used for teaching and research purposes in German anatomical institutes. The paper addresses the related issues by looking at the case of the Institute of Anatomy at Gießen University whose director, Ferdinand Wagenseil, is documented to have had certain political reservations towards the Nazi regime, but at the same time used the situation to get access to more corpses, most likely for teaching purposes. On a second level, new archival sources are used to explore to what extend corpses and body parts of Nazi victims were used in the post-WW II period. One central aim in this context is the reconstruction of the identities of these victims for the purpose of acknowledgment of the atrocities committed to them, appropriate remembrance, and to possibly enable the respectful burial of the remaining body parts. Further, the case raises the question how anatomists during and after the Nazi period justified for themselves the use of corpses from executed political prisoners, and what might be potential explanations for their reasoning. The historical evidence documents an attitude and value hierarchy which is aware of the disregard of dignity or human rights in the case of the Nazi victims, but which perceives this disregard as of minor relevance compared to the needs of medical teaching, or medical research. It is argued that this mental attitude is not specific for the Nazi period, but that it has been brought to an extreme manifestation in this specific context., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Anatomische Gesellschaft (AG) is an international society for the anatomical sciences and at the same time the main organising body for German anatomists. This study analyses how the AG went through the years of National Socialism. As the society does not possess archival material from that time, the analysis is mainly based on the society proceedings (Verhandlungen der Anatomischen Gesellschaft) published annually after each meeting from 1934 to 1939 and again in 1950. During the period of National Socialism, the AG kept its international status against demands to make it a purely German society. It did not introduce anti-Jewish regulations or the Führer principle into its bylaws. The membership directories reveal that it was at least possible for members whose career was disrupted by Nazi policies to remain on the membership lists throughout the Nazi period. However, in contrast to later assumptions that no persecuted member of the AG was ever struck from its register, 17 of 57 persecuted members left the society between 1933 and 1939. The membership of six of these members was cancelled, officially for unpaid fees. However, other members with much longer arrears were not cancelled. To date, no additional historical information is available to assess the circumstances of these cancellations. In general, it remains remarkable that, in contrast to many other societies, the AG did not follow the path of preemptive obedience towards the new rulers. More archival sources need to be uncovered to elucidate the external influences and internal negotiations behind the published documents., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

For more than 15 years, the memorial site "Roter Ochse (Red Ox)" in Halle/Saale, Germany, has studied documents of special and military courts in Mitteldeutschland (central Germany). Hundreds of death sentences have been executed during the last years of the war in the former state prison of Halle. The resulting dead bodies were used in biomedical research and teaching. The number of executions was marginal before 1933 but increased steadily after the Nazis seized power. The judiciary delivered an increasing number of death sentences against political opponents and persons who were to be eradicated from the "Volksgemeinschaft" (national community) according to racist ideology. However, the dead bodies were not distributed evenly to each of the anatomical institutes. The distribution depended on factors such as the distance of the institute to an execution place, the court responsible for the sentence, and whether the state or relatives had the right to dispose of the bodies. At the beginning of the year 1939, the Reichsjustizministerium (department of justice) issued a decree that changed the distribution process of dead bodies. As a rule, after the responsible ministry informed the anatomical institute of a pending execution, the institute confirmed the pick-up day of the body. Details of the actual delivery of bodies can be found in execution protocols, reports by execution overseers, receipts of body deliveries, body registers of the institutes, etc. This paper will review the historical progression of ministerial decisions and demonstrate how administrative documents can be used as a point of departure for current research projects., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Würzburg Anatomical Institute was one of the largest institutions of its kind in early 20th-century Germany. Little is known so far, however, about its history in the Third Reich. This paper presents the first results of current research on the Institute's directors Hans Petersen (1925-1940) and Curt Elze (1940-1945) and the sources from which it received its corpses during that period. For both directors there is little evidence for a marked affinity to National-Socialist ideology but a substantial degree of opportunism emerges from the surviving sources, at least in the case of Elze. Elze not only joined the NSDAP, by his own admission, without strict necessity. He also did not protest when Werner Heyde, principal medical actor in the Nazi "euthanasia" program, supplied him with 80 corpses of men and women who clearly had been murdered with carbon monoxide. The Institute's supply of corpses is analyzed based on the registers of received corpses and other, supplementary sources. Before 1933, the Würzburg Institute received most of its corpses from hospitals, old age homes. Between 1933 and 1945 some marked changes occurred. In particular, the number of corpses not only from psychiatric hospitals but also from other places of institutional care declined, presumably due, at least to a substantial degree, to "euthanasia". On the other hand, the number of corpses delivered from execution sites, prisons and Gestapo rose dramatically, reflecting the massive increase of the number of death sentences as well as, by all appearances, that of deaths from physical violence and torture in the prisons., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The history of anatomy in the Third Reich is still insufficiently explored, especially concerning its victims. These include not only the victims of the NS regime whose bodies were used in anatomical dissection, but also the Scholars of Anatomy whose careers were disrupted by NS policies. The spectrum of career disruption spanned from short-term suspension from work to death in concentration camps. In this study, the biographies of 462 Scholars of Anatomy were examined. 414 were members of the Anatomische Gesellschaft (Anatomical Society). Eighty-six persons (80 men, 6 women) were identified whose anatomical careers were disrupted by National Socialist policies. Sixty-two of them were members of the Anatomical Society. Their subsequent fate was dependent on the stage of the scholars' careers, their field of expertise, reason for dismissal (i.e. so-called Jewish descent or political dissent), nationality, country of residence or exile. Forty-three scholars emigrated, of whom 6 returned to positions in Germany and Austria after the war. Twenty-one remained in their home countries, of whom 17 were later reinstated in their positions. Twelve scholars were imprisoned, and 5 died in concentration camps. Five fates remain unresolved. As diverse as this group of scholars was, all of them had in common that a criminal regime forced them, being innocent of any crime, out of their position and work. Further work including the exploration of potential archival sources is necessary before a detailed and complete recounting of each individual life is possible., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

In 1989-90 an intense debate erupted in the Federal Republic of Germany over the status of anatomical specimens from the period of National Socialism. Pressure was brought on the German universities and research institutes to remove body parts. The solution was deemed rapid burial of all specimens whose provenance was in doubt. A range of options was considered, and the eventual decision to bury cremated remains was deemed the best way to draw a line under an uncomfortable past of Nazi medical atrocities. The aim was to achieve closure on this issue by a rapid "cleansing" of collections. However, identification of victims was left unresolved amidst the heated debates at the time., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

The present contribution adopts various points of view to discuss the terminology of the twelve nervi craniales. These are paired nerves and have dual names, terms with Roman ordinal numerals, i.e., the nerves are numbered in the top-to-bottom direction, and descriptive historical names. The time of origin and motivation behind the investigated terms are determined. The majority of terms come from the 17th and 18th centuries. The motivation behind most of them is (a) nerve localization, as this is in conformity with anatomical nomenclature in general, (b) nerve function, and rarely (c) nerve appearance. The occurrence of synonymous names and variants is also a focus of attention. In several cases, reference is made to the process called terminologization, meaning when a certain expression acquires technical meaning and the characteristic/feature of the term., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Sir William Turner (1832-1916) was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. His classic paper of 1863 on the anastomoses between the parietal and visceral branches of the abdominal aorta, later known as the sub-peritoneal arterial plexus of Turner, has mostly been forgotten. Located in the retroperitoneum and surrounding the kidneys and other adjacent structures, this plexus is an important route of collateral circulation. In the current paper, we discuss the sub-peritoneal arterial plexus as described by Turner in 1863 and review the literature concerning its potential clinical significance in the kidney, emphasizing its probable role in the metastatic spread of various tumors of abdominal organs and in the continuing viability of the kidney after renal artery occlusion. A biographical sketch of Sir William Turner is also presented., (2010. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Marie-François Xavier Bichat (1771-1802) was a prominent French anatomist during a time of revolution and one of the founders of French scientific medicine. He conducted several experimental studies, which laid the foundation for modern physiology. Based on autopsy findings, Bichat introduced 21 tissues as the basic elements of organs. His name is carried on by several eponyms in anatomy and histology; Bichat's fossa (pterygopalatine fossa), Bichat's protuberance (buccal fat pad), Bichat's foramen (cistern of the vena magna of Galen), Bichat's ligament (lower fasciculus of the posterior sacroiliac ligament), Bichat's fissure (transverse fissure of the brain) and Bichat's tunic (tunica intima vasorum). This paper deals with the life and works of this early pioneer in anatomy and physiology.

Emil Zuckerkandl (1849-1910), an Austrian anatomist and pathologist, is remembered with several eponyms; organ of Zuckerkandl (para-aortic chromaffin body), Zuckerkandl's fascia (posterior layer of the renal fascia), Zuckerkandl's gyrus (subcallosal area), Zuckerkandl's tuberculum (lateral projection of the thyroid gland), Zuckerkandl's operation (perineal prostatectomy), Zuckerkandl's dehiscence (fissures in the ethmoid bone), and concha of Zuckerkandl (a rare nasal concha). He was a favorite pupil of both Josef Hyrtl (1810-1894) and Carl von Langer (1819-1887) at the Vienna School of Anatomy, and succeeded the chair of anatomy there. Zuckerkandl strove to make anatomy "subservient" to the patient and thus was an early pioneer of clinical anatomy. He was prolific and wrote over 164 publications at the time of his death. His wife, Berta Zuckerkandl-Szeps, was a famous Austrian journalist and a remarkable personality of Jewish society in Vienna during the last decades of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until World War II. Emil Zuckerkandl left a tremendous legacy regarding anatomical knowledge. This early anatomist was credited with the comment that "anatomy is the war map for the operations of the physician". This concept gave rise to many surgical subspecialities and his anatomical descriptions serve as a basis of our current morphological understanding.

Friedrich Schlemm (1795-1858) is well known for his original description of the scleral venous sinus, known since as Schlemm's canal. He grew up in a village in the Duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick). As his family could not afford higher education, he was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon in Braunschweig. This gave him the opportunity to study anatomy and surgery at the local Anatomico-Surgical Institute. Recently discovered archival sources demonstrate that, in June of 1816, Schlemm and a fellow student disinterred the body of a deceased woman late at night in a Braunschweig churchyard to bring the body to this Institute and study the effects of rickets on the woman's bones. They were caught and sentenced to 4 weeks of prison. Subsequently, Schlemm left Braunschweig and found work as a low-rank army surgeon in Berlin. Professor Rudolphi, the director of the Berlin Institute of Anatomy, took note of Schlemm's manual dexterity in anatomical dissection and supported his impressive career. Schlemm eventually became full professor of anatomy in 1833 and spent his remaining 25 years in Berlin with a focus on teaching students and training surgeons. As historical background information is largely lacking in this regard, it is impossible to decide whether Schlemm's episode of grave robbing was a solitary instance or a more common method of acquiring bodies for anatomical instruction in early 19th century Germany.