Paul Langerhans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Langerhans
|
|
|---|---|
Paul Langerhans in 1878
|
|
| Born | 25 July 1847 |
| Died | 20 July 1888 (aged 40) |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Pathologist, physiologist, biologist |
Paul Langerhans was a German scientist born on July 25, 1847. He was a pathologist (someone who studies diseases), a physiologist (someone who studies how living things work), and a biologist (someone who studies life). He is famous for discovering special cells in the body that make insulin. These cells are now called the Islets of Langerhans, named after him. He passed away on July 20, 1888.
Contents
Things Named After Paul Langerhans
Many important parts of the body and science terms are named after Paul Langerhans because of his discoveries.
- Islets of Langerhans: These are groups of cells found in the pancreas. They include the cells that produce insulin, a hormone that helps your body use sugar. Langerhans found these cells in 1869 while he was studying for his advanced degree in Berlin.
- Langerhans cells: These are special cells found in your skin. They are part of your immune system and help fight off germs. Langerhans discovered these cells in 1868. He used a special dye to see them clearly. At first, he thought they were nerve cells, but we now know they are a type of immune cell.
- Layer of Langerhans: In the same paper where he described Langerhans cells, he also described a specific layer of skin. This layer is called the stratum granulosum, but it's also known as the Layer of Langerhans.
- Langerin: This is a protein found in Langerhans cells. It helps these cells do their job in the immune system.
Paul's Early Life and School
Paul Langerhans was born in Berlin, Germany, on July 25, 1847. His father was a doctor. Paul went to a famous school in Berlin called the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. He was such a good student that he didn't even have to take his final oral exams! He started studying medicine at the University of Jena and finished his studies in Berlin.
His Big Scientific Discoveries
In February 1869, Paul presented his important paper about the pancreas. In it, he wrote about "islands of clear cells" scattered throughout the organ. These cells looked different from the tissue around them. He noticed they had many nerves, but he wasn't sure what their job was. He incorrectly thought they might be lymph nodes. We now know these are the insulin-producing Islets of Langerhans.
One year before this, while he was still a student, he studied skin cells. He was part of a competition at Berlin University. In his paper, he described "branched skin cells resembling neurons." These cells were a mystery for over 100 years until scientists figured out their important role in the immune system. These are now known as Langerhans cells.
Early Career and Illness
After he graduated, Paul traveled to Syria, Palestine, and western Jordan with a geographer named Richard Kiepert. But he had to return to Europe when the Franco-Prussian War started. He then worked in an ambulance unit in France.
In 1871, a famous scientist named Rudolf Virchow helped him get a job at the University of Freiburg. Within two years, Paul became a full professor there. Sadly, in 1874, he caught tuberculosis. He likely got it from working with bodies in the dissecting room. He tried to find a cure by traveling to many places like Naples, Palermo, and Capri, and getting treatments in Switzerland. But nothing worked, and he had to leave his university job.
Life in Madeira and Marriage
In October 1875, Paul moved to Funchal on the island of Madeira. He started to feel a bit better there and began a new part of his life with lots of energy. He started studying marine worms. He would go to the harbor often to look through the fishermen's nets. His writings about marine invertebrates (animals without backbones) are considered his third major contribution to science. In 1887, he even gave a lecture about these topics in Berlin.
He also worked as a doctor in Funchal, mostly treating other people who had tuberculosis. He wrote scientific papers about the disease. Besides all this, he wrote a guide for travelers visiting Madeira and studied meteorology (the study of weather).
In 1885, he married Margarethe Ebart, who was the widow of one of his patients. They traveled to Berlin for the wedding, and he saw his family for the last time. The newly married couple rented a beautiful house in Funchal. His wife later said they had "three indescribably happy years" together.
Paul's Death
In the autumn of 1887, Paul's kidneys started to fail, which stopped him from working as a doctor. He developed swollen legs, bad headaches, and sometimes forgot things. He would even stop in the middle of a sentence and couldn't finish it. He died from uremia (a condition caused by kidney failure) on July 20, 1888. He was just five days shy of his 41st birthday. He is buried in the British Cemetery of Funchal on Madeira. He chose this spot himself, saying it was a "true graveyard, isolated and quiet, a good place to rest."
See also
In Spanish: Paul Langerhans para niños
