Langerhans, Paul (1847–1888)

German anatomist who conducted pioneering research into the human pancreas. In his doctoral thesis, written in 1869, he first described the islets in the pancreas that are now named after him.

Langerhans was born in Berlin, and educated at Jena and Berlin. He became demonstrator of anatomy at the University of Freiburg, but a lung injury forced him to leave and take up general practice at Funchal, Madeira, where he died. Besides his work on the pancreas he discovered (1869) cells in the epidermis (‘Langerhans's cells’) and (1873) the stratum granulosum of the skin (‘Langerhans's layer'’).