Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle

Friedrich Henle

Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (1809 - 1885) German physician, pathologist and anatomist, one of the great early figures in the development of modern medical science. He was an early proponent of the germ theory of diseases and Robert Koch was one of his students. He is most famously remembered as the discoverer of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His mammoth Handbook of Systematic Anatomy is considered a classic reference text to this day. His name is associated with many anatomical structures such as the Henle's layer (outer layer of cells of root sheath of hair follicle), Henle's ampulla (ampulla of the uterine tube), crypts of Henle (microscopic pockets in the conjuctiva), Henle's spine (suprameatal spine of the mastoid), Henle's fissure (fibrous tissue between cardiac muscle fibers) and Henle's ligament (tendon of the transversus abdominis). Henle was a man of varied interests who was at home in both the sciences and the arts, and he was also an accomplished musician.