Virchow

Rudolf Karl Virchow (June 13, 1821 – September 5, 1902) was a German physician, pathologist, biologist, and liberal politician. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern pathology, shaping how disease is understood and studied.

In medicine, Virchow advanced the concept of cellular pathology, arguing that disease originates at the cellular level and that tissue changes reflect cellular abnormalities. He popularized omnis cellula e cellula (every cell originates from a preexisting cell) and relied on extensive autopsy studies to link pathology with cellular processes. This work helped transform pathology from a chiefly descriptive discipline into a mechanistic science.

Virchow contributed across multiple domains. He described features of inflammatory diseases and advanced understanding of conditions such as thrombosis, embolism, and cancer. The left supraclavicular lymph node enlargement seen in some gastric cancers is known as Virchow’s node. In vascular medicine, he formulated what is now called Virchow’s triad—the combination of stasis, hypercoagulability, and endothelial injury—as factors predisposing to thrombosis.

Beyond the laboratory, Virchow was active in public health and politics. He argued that social conditions influence health and promoted sanitation, preventive medicine, and social reform. He served in the Prussian Diet and the German Reichstag, advocating for education, public health, and liberal policies.

Virchow’s legacy endures in modern pathology, epidemiology, and social medicine. His insistence on the cellular basis of disease and his attention to social determinants helped shape both diagnostic practice and public health initiatives.