Eduard von Rindfleisch

Who was Eduard von Rindfleisch?

Georg Eduard von Rindfleisch was a German pathologist and histologist. He was born in Köthen and died in Würzburg.

He studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin and Heidelberg, earning his doctorate in 1859. After obtaining his degree, he served as an assistant to Rudolf Virchow in Berlin, later receiving his habilitation in Breslau. Afterwards he was a professor of pathology in Zurich and Bonn, and in 1874 attained the chair of pathology at the University of Würzburg.

He was one of the first proposers of a vascular theory for multiple sclerosis after noticing in 1863 that the inflammation-associated lesions were distributed around veins. This work was the ground layer for the later Tracy Putnam work in the vascular theory of MS.

Also, he made noteworthy contributions in his pioneer research of tuberculosis. He was one of the leading advocates of scientific "neo-vitalism".