Werner Spalteholz

Life & Legacy

Werner Spalteholz (27 February 1861 in Dresden – 12 January 1940 in Leipzig) was a German anatomist.
From 1880 to 1885 he studied medicine at the University of Leipzig, where in 1891 he obtained his habilitation for anatomy. In 1892 he became an associate professor and curator of the anatomical collections at the university. During World War I, he initially served as chief physician, then as director, of a reserve hospital in Zwickau. He was instrumental towards the establishment of the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden.
He is credited for developing a method for making human tissue translucent by drenching it in liquids with similar light refraction properties as the tissue. Examples of transparent organ specimens that he produced were put on display at the First International Hygiene Exposition in Dresden (1911).