Leopold Auerbach

Leopold Auerbach (27 April 1828 – 30 September 1897) was a German Jewish anatomist and neuropathologist born in Breslau. He is best known for discovering the myenteric plexus also known as Auerbach's plexus, which helps control the gastrointestinal tract.

Education and career Auerbach studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Berlin and the Leipzig. He became a physician in 1849, obtained his habilitation in 1863. From 1872 he was an associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Breslau.

Discoveries Auerbach was among the first physicians to diagnose the nervous system using histological staining methods. He published a number of papers on neuropathological problems and muscle-related disorders.

He is credited with the discovery of Plexus myentericus Auerbachi, or Auerbach's plexus, a layer of ganglion cells that provide control of movements of the gastro-intestinal tract, also known as the "myenteric plexus".

"Friedreich–Auerbach disease" is named after Auerbach and pathologist Nikolaus Friedreich (1825–1882). It is a rare disease characterized by hemi-hypertrophy of the facial features, tongue, and tonsils.

Family Auerbach died in Breslau. His son Felix Auerbach was a renowned physicist, while his son Friedrich Auerbach was a chemist. Friedrich’s daughter Charlotte Auerbach was a geneticist.