Famous German Physiologists

Wilhelm Wundt was a German physiologist, professor, and philosopher. He is often counted among the founders of modern psychology and is widely considered the father of experimental psychology. He is also credited with founding the first laboratory for psychological research, which he founded at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

Theodor Schwann was a German physiologist and physician best remembered for his important contributions to biology. He is credited with discovering the Schwann cells, which is named after him. He is also credited with discovering pepsin and the organic nature of yeast. Theodor Schwann also invented the term metabolism.

Otto Heinrich Warburg was a German medical doctor and physiologist. In 1931, his discovery of the nature of the respiratory enzyme earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also played an important role during World War I where he served as an officer in the cavalry regiment; he was honored with the Iron Cross for bravery.

A pioneer of physical anthropology, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach laid down one of the first racial classification systems for humans after studying human skulls, dividing mankind into five racial groups. Born into a family of academics, he was a prodigy. He was against scientific racism, though his theory promoted the degenerative hypothesis.

Nobel Prize-winning German physiologist Emil Adolf von Behring is remembered as a pioneer of immunology for his research on serum therapy developed an antitoxin to cure diphtheria. One of the 13 children of his parents, he had studied medicine at a military academy due to lack of funds.

Johannes Peter Müller was a German physiologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and comparative anatomist. Known for his discoveries and his capability to synthesize knowledge, Müller made important contributions to the field of physiology. He also mentored physiologists and scientists like Hermann von Helmholtz, Theodor Schwann, Emil du Bois-Reymond, Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, Ernst Haeckel, and Ernst Wilhelm Brücke.

German embryologist and neurologist Robert Remak is known for pathbreaking scientific feats such as the discovery of the Remak’s ganglia and the use of electrotherapy to treat nervous ailments. He also named the three layers of the embryo, the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. His Jewish origin deprived him from valid recognition.

Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke was a German physician and physiologist. He studied medicine at the University of Berlin. Together with Emil Du Bois-Reymond, Hermann von Helmholtz and others, he founded the Physikalische Gesellschaft (Physical Society) in Berlin. He had a successful academic career and is remembered for his research on the nature of cells and studies of albumin. 

Ludwig Büchner was a German philosopher, physiologist, and physician. He was one of the exponents of 19th-century scientific materialism. He studied at the University of Strasbourg, the University of Würzburg, and the University of Vienna before becoming a lecturer in medicine. As an exponent of scientific materialism, he founded the "German Freethinkers League" ("Deutsche Freidenkerbund") in Frankfurt.  

Physiologist Martin Henry Fischer, known for his expertise in colloid chemistry, had been a professor at the University of Cincinnati for 40 years. His medical quotes and aphorisms were collected in the book Fischerisms. A painter and art lover too, he designed the interiors of his lecture hall.