Emil Ponfick was a German pathologist who was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1867 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Heidelberg, and later was an assistant to Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen was a German pathologist who practiced medicine in Würzburg and Strassburg . Born in Gütersloh, Westphalia, he was the father of physiologist Heinrich von Recklinghausen ....

 (1833–1910) at Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

, and Rudolf Virchow

Rudolf Virchow

Rudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...

 (1821–1902) in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin 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...

. Afterwards he became a professor of pathology at Rostock

Rostock

Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

 (1873), Göttingen

Göttingen

Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

 (1876) and Breslau (1878), where he replaced Julius Friedrich Cohnheim (1839–1884) as director of the pathological institute, and where he remained until his death in 1913.

Ponfick is remembered for his pioneer research of actinomycosis

Actinomycosis

Actinomycosis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Actinomyces species such as Actinomyces israelii or A. gerencseriae. It can also be caused by Propionibacterium propionicus, and the condition is likely to be polymicrobial aerobic anaerobic infection.Actinomycosis occurs rarely in humans...

, and his recognition of the causative role Actinomyces

Actinomyces

Actinomyces from Greek "actino" that means mucus and fungus, is a genus of the actinobacteria class of bacteria. They are all Gram-positive and are characterized by contiguous spread, suppurative and granulomatous inflammation, and formation of multiple abscesses and sinus tracts that may...

played in human actinomycosis. He documented his findings in an 1882 treatise titled Die Actinomykose des Menschen, eine neue Infectionskrankheit.

In 1874 Ponfick warned the Association of Baltic Physicians about the dangers of animal-to-human blood transfusion

Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...

s (xenotransfusion). This warning was based on empirical experience in which a patient had died after receiving blood from a sheep. The following year physiologist Leonard Landois

Leonard Landois

Leonard Landois was a German physiologist who was a native of Münster. He studied medicine at the University of Greifswald, and was later a professor and director of the institute of physiology at Greifswald. In 1866 he became a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina...

 (1837–1902) from the University of Greifswald backed up Ponfick's findings with statistical data regarding the dangers of xenotransfusion.