Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (1809 -1885) German physician, anatomist, histologist, and physiologist. Born in the city F?rth, Henle entered the University of Bonn and studied anatomy with Johannes Muller (1801 – 1859), a professor of anatomy and histology. Henle dedicated his efforts to scientific research, and became the managing editor of the journal “Archives of Anatomy, Physiology, and Scientific Medicine” founded by Muller.
Henle’s career in Berlin suffered after he was arrested for 40 days in jail, because of his past membership in a radical liberal and nationalistic student fraternity, the Burschenschaften. He transferred from Berlin to Zurich where he founded the School of Rational Medicine.
Among his publications, the “Allgemeine Anatomie “(1841) is considered the first treatise on microscopic histology. Also, his book “Handbuch der systematischen Anatomie des Menschen” (Handbook of Human Systematic Anatomy) is a great anatomy book with good illustrations.
Henle moved from Zurich to Heidelberg, and from there to G?ttingen, where he accepted the position of Professor of Anatomy. He stayed at G?ttingen until his death in 1885.
Original image courtesy of ihm.nlm.nih.gov/
|Henle’s many remembered contributions are mostly in the area of histology. His name is found in many eponyms. The eponym most associated with his name is “Henle’s loop”, part of the tubular component of a nephron.
• Crypts of Henle: Microscopic pockets located in the conjunctiva of the eye
• Henle's fissure: Fibrous tissue between the cardiac muscle fibers.
• Henle's ampulla: Ampulla of the uterine (Fallopian) tube
• Henle's layer: Outer layer of cells of root sheath of a hair follicle.
• Henle's ligament (tendon): Tendon of the transversus abdominis muscle.
• Henle's membrane: The layer forming the inner boundary of the choroid of the eye
1. "The Origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co.
2. “The Man Behind the Eponym Jacob Henle: Henle’s Layer of the Internal Root Sheath” Steffen C. Am J Dermatopath (2001) 23(6): 549–551
3. “The life of Jacob Henle” Robinson A Medical Life Co. 1921