Louis-Charles Malassez

Louis-Charles Malassez (21 September 1842 – 1909) was a French scientist who was born in Nevers, France. He is known for his scientific work done in the medical laboratories at the Collège de France.

Malassez is credited for the invention of the hemocytometer, an apparatus used to quantatively measure blood cells. In the field of dentistry, he described residual cells of the epithelial root sheath in the periodontal ligament. These remaining cells are now known as the epithelial cell rests of Malassez (ERM).

A genus of fungi called "Malassezia" bears his name. The species in the genus include: "Malassezia furfur", "Malassezia ovalis", "Malassezia pachydermatis", "Malassezia sympodialis" and "Malassezia orbiculare". "Malassezia furfur" is a lipophilic species that forms on human skin and can cause seborrheic dermatitis and tinea versicolor, "Malassezzia pachydermatis" is a species that is associated with otitis externa in dogs.

References

* [http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_m_02zPzhtm Dorlands's Medical Dictionary, Definition of Malassezia species & Cell rests]
* [http://www.annclinlabsci.org/cgi/search?andorexactfulltext=and&resourcetype=1&disp_type=&sortspec=relevance&author1=&fulltext=hemocytometer&pubdate_year=&volume=&firstpage= Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science]

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