Joseph Paneth

Who was Joseph Paneth?

Joseph Paneth was an Austrian physiologist born in Vienna. Paneth is remembered for his description of "Paneth cells", which are cells that provide host defense against microbes in the mucosa of the small intestine.

He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Vienna, where he worked with physiologist Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke. After a short stay at the University of Breslau, he returned to Vienna, where in 1886 he became a lecturer at the university. In 1883-84 he worked at the zoological station at Villefranche, near Nice.

He was a good friend of psychologist Sigmund Freud, who made a posthumous reference of Paneth in "The Interpretation of Dreams". Paneth is also remembered for his correspondence with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

He was the father of chemist Friedrich Paneth.