Augustin Friedrich Walther (October 26, 1688 – October 12, 1746) was a German anatomist, botanist and physician who was a native of Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

. He was the son of theologian Michael Walther the Younger (1638–1692).

In 1712 he earned his degree of philosophy from the University of Wittenberg, and in the following year received his medical doctorate from the University of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

. At Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 he became a professor of anatomy (1728), pathology

Pathology

Pathology 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....

 (1732) and therapy

Therapy

This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...

 (1737). In 1730 he became director of the Leipzig Botanical Gardens, and in 1737 was rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 at the university.

Among his numerous writings was a 1735 botanical treatise called Designatio plantarum quas hortus AF Waltheri complectitur, in which he provides descriptions of thousands of plant species from his private botanical garden. As a physician he made contributions in the fields of myology

Myology

The muscular system consists of skeletal muscle that act to move or position parts of the body , or smooth and cardiac muscle that propels, expels, or controls the flow of fluids and contained substance.The British Myology Society is an example of a professional group promoting myology ...

 and angiology

Angiology

Angiology is the medical specialty which studies the diseases of circulatory system and of the lymphatic system, i.e., arteries, veins and lymphatic vases, and its diseases...

, and has several medical and anatomical terms named after him, including:

• Walther's dilator: An instrument used for dilation of the female urethra
  Urethra
  In anatomy, the urethra is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the genitals for the removal of fluids out of the body. In males, the urethra travels through the penis, and carries semen as well as urine...
  
  .
• Walther's ducts: Also known as minor sublingual ducts.
• Walther's ganglion: Also known as the coccygeal ganglion.
• Walther's plexus: Also known as the intracavernous plexus; which is the portion of the internal carotid plexus
  Internal carotid plexus
  The internal carotid plexus is situated on the lateral side of the internal carotid artery, and in the plexus there occasionally exists a small gangliform swelling, the carotid ganglion, on the under surface of the artery....
  
   in the cavernous sinus
  Cavernous sinus
  The cavernous sinus , within the human head, is a large collection of thin-walled veins creating a cavity bordered by the temporal bone of the skull and the sphenoid bone, lateral to the sella turcica.-Contents:...
  
  .

The plant genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Waltheria

Waltheria

Waltheria is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is sometimes placed in Sterculiaceae. The name honours German botanist Augustin Friedrich Walther .-Selected species:*Waltheria calcicola Urb. – Raichie...

from the family Sterculiaceae

Sterculiaceae

Sterculiaceae is a botanical name for a group of flowering plants at the rank of family, which is now considered obsolete. As is true for any botanical name, the circumscription, status and placement of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view...

is named after him.