Ignaz Döllinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1770-05-27)27 May 1770 |
| Died | 14 January 1841(1841-01-14) (aged 70) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine,Anatomy,Physiology |
| Doctoral advisor | Antonio Scarpa |
| Doctoral students | Johann Lukas Schönlein |
Ignaz Döllinger (27 May 1770 – 14 January 1841) was a German medical doctor,anatomist andphysiologist and one of the first professors to understand and treat medicine as a natural science.
Ignaz Döllinger was born in 1770 inBamberg, where his father was a professor at the university and physician to the Prince-Bishop. He commenced his studies in his native town (where he took a doctorate in 1794), continuing them inWürzburg,Pavia andVienna before returning to Bamberg. Soon after gaining his doctorate in 1794, he became professor for physiology and general pathology in Bamberg, but was called to a professorship of anatomy and physiology atUniversity of Würzburg in 1803 as the successor to the formercity doctor, physiologist and natural philosopherJohann Joseph Dömling (1771–1803). In 1823 he moved toMunich (to the Academy, as the University was still inLandshut at this time). When the University finally moved to the capital, he transferred there. His best known students wereLouis Agassiz,[1]Karl Ernst von Baer,Lucas Schönlein,Christian Heinrich von Pander,Lorenz Oken andPhilipp Franz von Siebold.
Döllinger's importance comes from his contributions to the understanding of human development andcomparative anatomy, based on his knowledge in all areas ofmorphology andphysiology. He was one of the first workers to perceive and treat medicine as a natural science – his work on thecirculation of blood, secretory processes and the first stages ofembryological development are exemplary here. At the same time, he was aware that simply collecting scientific facts was just as ineffective as pure speculation, and it was because of this attitude that he is considered anatural philosopher.[2]
He died in Munich.
