Robert Remak had quite bad luck in life if we are one of those who see the glass half empty. The fact of being Jewish and having to compete against one of the greats such as Rudolf Virchow did not benefit him at all in his attempt to become a university professor.
But, although his desire to be a professor at the highest German institution of his time was denied, his great discoveries in the field of embryology, physiology and neurology make Remak a figure that cannot be ignored at all.
The life of this Pole of Jewish origin in the German society of the 19th century was not easy, but it cannot be said that his history was erased, and here we will learn about it through a summary biography of Robert Remak
Neurologist, physiologist, embryologist, histologist and mycologist are the five words that can define Remak in the professional field. Their findings greatly changed the perception of how living beings were formed, especially vertebrates, in addition to describing the structure of the nervous system and how cells originated from other pre-existing ones. The list of his contributions is extensive, and it is not surprising since, as he was rejected on multiple occasions to be a university professor, he dedicated all his time to research.
Early years
Robert Remak was born in Posen, Germany (present-day Poznań, Poland) between July 26 and 30, 1815 He was born into a family of Orthodox Jews strongly identified with Polish culture, being the eldest of five children.
The first years of his education were spent at home, but he later attended secondary school in the city of Poznań. Despite his interest in studies and being an excellent student, he had to interrupt his education for a year because his health, which was very fragile, worsened and he had to rest. Fortunately he recovered and, later, he would study at the Polish Gymnasium in Poznan.
University education
Having turned 18, he went to Berlin to study at the University of the German capital. The Berlin of the 19th century already pointed out ways such as the cultural, scientific and philosophical center that it would end up being in a very few years. It was the scientific mecca for any German citizen interested in pursuing university studies, such as Remak, who would study medicine in such a neuralgic city.
at the faculty He was lucky to have as teachers great figures of German science of the time, such as the physiologist Johannes Müller and the naturalist CG Ehrenberg Both professors were very close to the technique of microscopy, inviting Remak to begin studying tissue and cell samples on his own, both to satisfy his curiosity and to expand his knowledge. Thus, he would begin studying this discipline even before completing his medical degree.
The first thing he studied with this instrument were the ganglion cells and nerve fibers of invertebrates From his findings he would publish his first work on the structure of nerve tissue in 1836, when he was only 21 years old.
In 1838 he published his thesis Observations anatomicae et microscopicae de systematis nervosi structura, a text in which he demonstrated the existence of a cylinder-shaped structure that he called “primitive band.” This same band had been called cylinder-axis by the anatomist Johannes Evangelista Purkinje. With Remak’s microscope too observed medullated nerve fibers in the sympathetic nervous system, which he referred to as the “organic nervous system.”
Remak’s life is not only highlighted by his great and important scientific discoveries, having barely turned 30 years old. He also carried out an important task giving prestige to his native language, since he himself translated his thesis into Polish, contributing to establishing a new medical nomenclature in this Slavic language. Despite being widely spoken, it was a very minority language compared to German, considered an important language of scientific dissemination.
Early professional years
After finishing his training, Robert Remak ended up in Johannes Müller’s laboratory, working in it He also offered private microscopy classes and delved into clinical practice. With these jobs he earned his living since, although his intellect and early discoveries were impressive, his Jewish condition prevented him from being a university professor in a very anti-Semitic Germany, even in the most moderate cultural and scientific circles.
Given the religious and ethnic discrimination in 19th century Germany, Remak considered going to Paris He reflected strongly on this idea, however, the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt convinced him to stay and continue researching it. Thanks to this, in 1839 she discovered ganglion cells in the right atrium of the frog, giving life to the neurogenic doctrine of cardiac contraction. Later he would find nerve fibers in the lung, larynx, pharynx and tongue and, also, in the wall of the urinary bladder.
In 1840 he focused on the study of the so-called organic nervous system, both from a histological and physiological point of view. A year later he would publish his results in the form of articles, composing the Encyclopädische Wörterbuch der medicinischen Wissenschaften (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medical Sciences).
He would publish his study Über die Entstehung der Blutkörperchen (On the formation of blood cells) in the “Medizinische Zeitung”, in which talked about how blood cells divided and multiplied Basically, in this article he shows his rejection of the theory that was still very widespread in his time that cells could be generated from a more or less homogeneous elemental substance.
New opportunities
The 1840s seemed like it was going to be a time of socio-political changes in Prussia, since that same year Frederick William IV took the throne and, with him, greater tolerance towards Jews, or in principle that was the idea. Taking advantage of this, Robert Remak, through the help of the Minister of Education and appearing in front of the monarch himself, asked him to name him “Dozent” so that he could teach at the university. Unfortunately, he did not approve his request.
Robert Remak He was forced to continue in the field of research, this time working as an assistant in the laboratory of Johann Lucas Schönlein In that laboratory Remak did clinical research, collected in the book “Diagnostische und pathogenetische Untersuchungen” (Diagnoses and pathological studies, 1845). He also continued his work on embryology and on the structure of the nervous system.
Although frustrated at not being able to be a university professor, he knew how to channel his rage and anger into something productive and, as a result, he discovered that the deepest germ layer in the embryo has its origin in the epithelium. He also demonstrated cell division in the embryonic origin of the primitive muscle bundles and discovered the fibrils of the cylinder-axis.
Fortunately, His luck changed in 1847, since that year he was appointed lecturer at the University of Berlin, with the support of Schönlein and Humboldt. Although it was a minor position, this did not prevent it from generating a significant media impact, since Robert Remak was the first Jew to occupy such a position in such an institution. Thanks to this he gained a lot of renown within the scientific community. As icing on the cake, it would be that same year in which he married Feodore Meyer.
Although his dream of being a university professor had been achieved, although not completely, he did not leave the field of research. He continued his studies in medicine, especially in the germ sheet and development of vertebrates. In 1850 he would publish the first part of his studies on these two topics, in addition to discussing the possibility that the cells of fertilized chicken eggs divide continuously.
In 1851 he discovered that the organs in which the senses are located, such as eyes, ears, skin and others, are formed from the ectoderm. A year later he would publish his own doctrine on cell division in Müller’s archives, pointing out that cells multiply by excision of their nucleus, not from an original protoplasm This is, in fact, one of the great scientific advances in modern times, since it culminated the cell theory as we know it today.
With this cell theory Remak refuted Theodor Schwann about the exogenous origin of cells. Remak, as we know today, considered that animal and plant cells have a single intracellular origin, and that all animal cells arose from embryonic cells by progressive division. In 1852 He reaffirmed all this by publishing an article in which he argued that cells, by necessity, had to arise from other cells whether by division or split.
In 1855 he completed his embryological work by publishing “Untersuchungen über die Entwickelung der Wirbelthiere” (Research on the development of vertebrates). He would simplify the theory of germ sheets and would himself introduce the terms “ectoderm”, “mesoderm” and “endoderm”. It would be in that same year that he published his first neurology work, Über methodische Electrisierung gelähmter Muskeln (On the methodical electrification of paralyzed muscles).
Last years
In 1856 he would break ties with the university since he was denied the position of professor of pathological anatomy. Already quite fed up with the fact that, despite having been an excellent researcher and a great student at that same institution, he was hardly allowed anything, he decided to continue with clinical practice and disseminating, publishing Galvanotherapie der Nerven und Muskelnkrakheiten(Galvanotherapy in nerve and muscle diseases) which he dedicated to Humboldt.
However, in 1859 he would return to relate to the university, since he was appointed assistant professor at the institution. This did not prevent him from feeling frustrated and disenchanted with the academic world and, together with his failing health, Robert Remak He would end up dying a few years later, on August 29, 1865 at the age of 50 He died while undergoing a rest cure and the cause of his death was, surely, general sepsis secondary to diabetes.
