Leopold Auerbach was a German anatomist

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 and neuropathologist

Neuropathology

Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole autopsy brains. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery...

 born in Breslau.

Auerbach studied Medicine at the University of Breslau, the University of Berlin and 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...

. He became a doctor in 1850. From 1872 he was an associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Breslau.

His is credited with the discovery of Plexus myentericus Auerbachi, or Auerbach's plexus

Auerbach's plexus

A part of the enteric nervous system, Auerbach's plexus , exists between the longitudinal and circular layers of muscularis externa in the gastrointestinal tract and provides motor innervation to both layers of the mucosa, having both parasympathetic and sympathetic input, whereas Meissner's plexus...

, a layer of ganglion

Ganglion

In anatomy, a ganglion is a biological tissue mass, most commonly a mass of nerve cell bodies. Cells found in a ganglion are called ganglion cells, though this term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to retinal ganglion cells....

 cells which provide muscular movement of the gastro-intestinal system. He was also one of the first physicians to diagnose the nervous system

Nervous system

The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...

 using histological

Histology

Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...

 staining methods. He published a number of papers on neuropathological problems and muscle-related disorders.

"Friedreich-Auerbach disease" is named after Auerbach and pathologist Nikolaus Friedreich

Nikolaus Friedreich

Nikolaus Friedreich was a German pathologist and neurologist, and a third generation physician in the Friedreich family...

. It is a rare disease which causes hypertrophy

Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It should be distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number...

 of the facial features and tongue.

Sources

• Leopold Auerbach @ Who Named It
  Who Named It
  Who Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...