Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Elder
- Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Elder
Johann Friedrich Meckel the Elder (July 31, 1724 - September 18, 1774) was a German anatomist who was born in Wetzlar. He often has "the Elder" appended to his name to avoid confusion with his famous grandson Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781-1833), who was also an anatomist and often has "the Younger" included with his name. The elder Meckel's son, Philipp Friedrich Theodor Meckel (1756-1803) and another grandson, August Albrecht Meckel (1790-1829) were also anatomists.
Meckel earned his medical doctorate from the University of Göttingen in 1748, where in his thesis "Tractatus anatomico physiologicus de quinto pare nervorum cerebri" he documents his discovery of the submandibular ganglion. He moved to Berlin where he first worked as Prosector and also taught classes on midwifery. In 1751 he became professor of anatomy, botany and obstetrics.
Eponyms
Meckel has three anatomical eponyms associated with him:
* "Meckel's space" or "Meckel's cave": A cavity in the dura mater over the petrous portion of the temporal bone that covers the trigeminal ganglion.
* "Meckel's ganglion": better known as the sphenopalatine ganglion, which is a small parasympathetic ganglion in the upper part of the sphenomaxillary fissure giving off nerves to the eyes, nose, and palate.
* "Meckel's ligament": a portion of the anterior ligament that fastens the malleus to the wall of the tympanic membrane.
Collection
During his career, Meckel began an anatomical collection that was continued by his son and grandson. The collection includes mummified parts of the body, organs, skeletons and skulls, zoological as well as human anatomy. The collection also contains teratolgical specimens, including a complete "situs inversus" from the 18th century. Today the "Meckelsche Sammlungen" (Meckel Collection) has approximately 7000 exhibits and is housed at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Halle.
References
* [http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1916.html Who Named It?; Johann Friedrich Meckel]
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Johann Friedrich Meckel — Infobox Scientist name = PAGENAME box width = image size =150px caption = PAGENAME birth date = October 17, 1781 birth place = Halle death date = October 31, 1833 death place = residence = citizenship = nationality = Germany ethnicity = field =… … Wikipedia
Meckel's cave — Infobox Anatomy Name = PAGENAME Latin = cavum Meckelii, cavum trigeminale GraySubject = 200 GrayPage = 886 Caption = The otic ganglion and its branches. Caption2 = System = Precursor = MeshName = MeshNumber = DorlandsPre = c 16 DorlandsSuf =… … Wikipedia
Meckel band (ligament) ganglion space — Meck·el band (ligament), ganglion, space (mekґəl) [Johann Friedrich Meckel (the elder), German anatomist, 1724–1774] see under band, and see cavum trigeminale, ganglion pterygopalatinum, and ganglion submandibulare … Medical dictionary
Meckel cartilage (rod) diverticulum plane syndrome — Meck·el cartilage (rod), diverticulum, plane, syndrome (mekґəl) [Johann Friedrich Meckel (the younger) (grandson of J.F. Meckel, the elder), German anatomist, 1781–1833] see under cartilage, diverticulum, plane, and syndrome … Medical dictionary
Meckel-Gruber syndrome — Meck·el Gru·ber syndrome mek əl grü bər n a syndrome inherited as an autosomal recessive trait and typically characterized by occipital encephalocele, microcephaly, cleft palate, polydactyly, and polycystic kidneys called also Meckel s syndrome… … Medical dictionary
Meckel's cave — n a space beneath the dura mater containing the trigeminal ganglion called also Meckel s cavity Meckel Johann Friedrich, the Elder (1724 1774) German anatomist. Meckel was an anatomist known for his considerable powers of observation and skill in … Medical dictionary
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Trigeminal cave — The trigeminal ganglion and its branches represented here as 1st division, 2nd division, and 3rd division. The Trigeminal Cave houses this ganglion. Latin cavum Meckelii, cavum trigeminale Gray s … Wikipedia
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