Ludwig Mauthner

Ludwig Mauthner (April 13, 1840 - October 20, 1894) was an Austrian neuroanatomist and ophthalmologist who was a native of Prague.

He studied medicine at the University of Vienna, where he received his doctorate in 1861. In 1864 he was a "privatdozent" of ophthalmology, and in 1869 became a professor at the University of Innsbruck. In 1877 he resigned his position at Innsbruck, and returned to Vienna as a private instructor.

In 1859, while still a student, Mauthner discovered a fibrous structure in the spinal cord of fishes that contained two large cell bodies in the animals' metencephalon. These cells were to become known as Mauthner cells, and are known to exist in amphibians as well as fish. Mauthner cells have large-diameter axons which run down the length of the spinal cord.

Mauthner wrote numerous treatises in the field of ophthalmology, including "Die sympathischen Augenleiden", a book which was translated into English in 1881 as "The sympathetic diseases of the eye".
* Associated Eponyms:
* "Mauthner's sheath": The plasma membrane of an axon; also known as an axolemma.
* "Mauthner's test": A test formerly used for color perception.

References

* [http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ArtikelNr=114363&Ausgabe=233928&ProduktNr=223831&filename=114363.pdf Ludwig Mauthner (1840-1894): Neuroanatomist and Noted Ophthalmologist in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna]
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=283 Jewish Encyclopedia, Biography of Ludwig Mauthner]
* [http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?Mauthner's+cell Online Medical Dictionary]