Meissner G
Name: Georg Meissner
Achievements: Discovered the skin's tactile cells (Meissner's tactile cells) and the sub-mucosal nerve plexus of the intestinal wall (Meissner's plexus)
Born: November 19, 1829; Hanover, Germany
Died: March 30, 1905; Gottingen, Germany. Aged 75
Field & Discipline: Science; Medicine; Education; Anatomy; Physiology
Language: German
Father: Adolf Meissner
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Name Unknown (daughter of Franz Ritter von Kobell)
Children: Two sons
Education: University of Gottingen, Germany.
Life & Times:
At Gottingen Meissner found a friend and patron, Rudolph Wagner, professor of physiology, comparative anatomy, and zoology. Meissner assisted Wagner his investigations in anatomy and, especially, in microscopy.
At Gottingen he also established a lifelong friendship with [a pal of] Billroth*. The two shared a love for music and a fascination with microscopic anatomy. In the autumn of 1851, Meissner and Billroth accompanied Wagner on a research expedition to Trieste, to investigate the origins and endings of the nerves in the torpedo fish (sting ray). Meissner provided the drawings, then printed by Wagner in his "Icones physiologicae.”
Also in 1851, Meissner began his comparative microscopic investigations into the cells and fibres of the acoustic nerve. In 1852, he studied the tactile corpuscles of the skin, which today bear his name. The results were published under the names of Wagner and Meissner, but a controversy broke out between Wagner and Meissner when, in Meissner's doctoral thesis in 1853, the results were published under his name alone. Wagner soon laid sole claim to the discovery, and demanded a public resolution of the matter. Meissner refused . The controversy left bad feelings between the two men.
In the spring of 1853, Meissner went to Berlin to attend the lectures of [attended lectures of] Muller*, whom he had met in Trieste. He then continued to Munich to attend the lectures of [attended lectures of] Liebig*. In 1855 he was appointed full professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Basel. Two years later he accepted a professorship of physiology, zoology, and histology at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau.
In 1859, Wagner and Meissner became reconciled, and Wagner, who until then had held the joint chair of physiology, comparative anatomy, and zoology, turned over this duties in physiology to Meissner, who in 1860 became the first occupant of the separate chair of physiology at Gottingen. He held the office until 1901, when he retired because of asthma. Meissner's talent for drawing, especially for microscopic drawings, served him well. His lectures, well-prepared and vivid, were illustrated with drawings of his experiments. But though an animated lecturer, he was not considered a sociable man.
Meissner's publications were not numerous. Those between 1853 and 1858 dealt chiefly with microscopy, especially as related to the skin (Meissner's tactile cells). In 1857, he described the sub-mucosal nerve plexus of the intestinal wall, which is now called Meissner's plexus. After 1858 he wrote largely on physiological-chemical problems, mainly about the nature and the decomposition of protein compounds in the digestive system. The results of Meissner's investigations, undertaken alone as well as with collaborators, were published in "Zeitschrift fur rationelle Medizin,” edited by his friend [a pal of] Henle*.
In 1861, Meissner built a new electrometer, a mirror galvanometer. His experiments in electrophysiology led him to propose a new theory concerning the generation of electric potentials through the deformation of biological tissues. This was greeted with a devastating critique in 1867 by [criticized by] du Bois-Reymond*, the leading figure in electrophysiology.
The results of Meissner's experiments on protein were so poorly received that after 1869 he published nothing more under his own name. Bacteriologist [taught] Koch* acknowledged that Meissner was one of the most influential of his teachers.
Extra Connections: He was taught by [taught by] Langenback*
Assessment: Major figure in German medicine.
Oneliner: Georg Meissner, major 19th-century German physiologist
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.