Theodor Schwann

Theodor Schwann was a German medical doctor and physiologist, born in Neuss in 1810, whose most significant contribution to biology was the extension of cell theory to animals. He enrolled at the University of Bonn in 1829 for the premedical course and moved to the University of Wurzburg in 1831 for clinical training. His work includes the discovery of the Schwann cells of the peripheral nervous system, the discovery and study of pepsin, the finding that yeast is organic in nature, and the coining of the term metabolism. He moved to Belgium in 1838 and in 1848 transferred to the University of Liege. The American Philosophical Society elected him an international member in 1863.