Nikolaus Rüdinger was a German anatomist born in Bingen am Rhein

Bingen am Rhein

Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...

, Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

.

He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Giessen

University of Giessen

The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...

. In 1855 he worked as a prosector

Prosector

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology....

 at the University of Munich, where in 1870 was appointed professor of anatomy and second curator

Curator

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...

 of the anatomical institute.

Rüdinger is credited for introducing a new method for preservation of corpses in the dissecting room. This procedure involved injections of carbolic acid mixed with glycerine and alcohol. In addition, he is remembered for using photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 for anatomical diagnoses. He died in Tutzing

Tutzing

Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany and is situated on the west bank of the Starnberger See south of Munich...

 on 25 August 1896 at the age of 64.

Selected publications

• "Anatomie des peripherischen Nervensystems des menschlichen Körpers" (Anatomy of the Peripheral Nervous System
  Peripheral nervous system
  The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord. The main function of the PNS is to connect the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. Unlike the CNS, the PNS is not protected by the bone of spine and skull, or by the blood–brain...
  
   of Human Corpses), Two volumes- 1870
• "Atlas des peripherischen Nervensystems" (Atlas of the Peripheral Nervous System), 1872
• "Atlas des menschlichen Gehörorgans" (Atlas of the Human Hearing Organs), 1867-70
• "Topographisch-chirurgische Anatomie des Menschen" (Topographical-surgical Anatomy of Humans), 1870-78
• "Beitrag zur Morpholegte des Gaumsegels und des Verdauungsapparats", (Contributions to the Morphology of the Soft Palate
  Soft palate
  The soft palate is the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palate at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone....
  
   and the Digestive Apparatus), 1879
• "Beitrag zur Anatomie der Affenspalte und der Interparietalfurche", 1882
• "Beitrag zur Anatomie des Sprachzentrums" (Contributions to the Anatomy of the Language Center), 1882
• "Zur Anatomie der Prostata" (The Anatomy of the Prostate
  Prostate
  The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male reproductive system in most mammals....
  
  ), 1883