Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) was a German physician, pathologist, anthropologist, biologist, and politician, widely regarded as the father of modern pathology and a founder of social medicine
. He revolutionized medical science by applying cell theory to pathology, establishing that diseases originate primarily in the cells of the body rather than in organs or tissues as wholes. His famous dictum, omnis cellula e cellula ("all cells come from cells"), emphasized that cells arise only from pre-existing cells, rejecting the idea of spontaneous generation
. Virchow studied medicine at Friedrich Wilhelm University and worked at the Charité hospital in Berlin. His investigation of the 1847–1848 typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia led him to link social conditions with health, coining the aphorism "Medicine is a social science, and politics is medicine on a large scale." This insight propelled his lifelong advocacy for social reform and public health improvements, including campaigns for compulsory meat inspection and sewage disposal systems
. He held academic positions such as the chair of pathological anatomy at the University of Würzburg and later at Friedrich-Wilhelms-University in Berlin, where he directed the Institute for Pathology at the Charité
. Virchow was also politically active, serving as a progressive deputy in the Prussian parliament and Reichstag, promoting social medicine and public health policies
. His scientific contributions include the systematization of cellular pathology, detailed studies of thrombosis and embolism, and pioneering work in anthropology and prehistory
. Virchow's legacy is profound in both medicine and social health reform, marking him as a pivotal figure in 19th-century science and society
