Rudolf Virchow: Sämtliche Werke

Rudolf Virchow hat die moderne Pathologie nicht nur begründet, sondern der Nachwelt ein überaus reiches und 'gedankenschweres' wissenschaftliches Erbe hinterlassen. It is well known that research into the biology and pathology of tumours remains incomplete to this day. Nonetheless the history of their discovery on the way towards today’s advanced level of understanding is a gripping one. More than 140 years ago, in 1863, there appeared the first volume of Rudolf Virchow’s monumental work Die krankhaften Geschwülste, now published for the first time with extensive indexes and historical and critical essay in classification, as part of Virchow’s complete works. Although Virchow, undoubtedly the ‘father’ of modern pathology, was unable to complete the work, the research he began, which laid the foundations of modern scientifically-oriented pathology, represented decisive and still valid progress. The two and a half printed volumes also remain genuinely fascinating and stimulating today, for they offer an insight into Virchow’s ideas, his visionary passion for research. They show his capacity for systematisation and his ability to formulate ideas in a manner both brilliant and comprehensible. Rudolf Virchow did not only found modern pathology but left the world an extremely rich and ‘idea-heavy’ intellectual legacy.