Richard Thoma

Vocation

Notable

German pathologist who conducted decades of research on biophysical properties of blood flow (hemodynamics) and tissue, focusing on physico-mathematical ("histomechanical") laws. In Untersuchungen über die Histogenese und Histomechanik des Blutgefässsystems (Investigations on the histogenesis and histo-mechanics of the blood vessel system, 1893) Thoma summarizes his research results. He distinguishes between primary vascular growth and vascular growth by budding, the formation of new capillaries from pre-existing capillaries. Also worthy of mention is his scholarly dispute with Wilhelm Roux regarding the functional adaptation of tissues ("struggle of the parts"), which, according to the style of publication at the time, assumed a partly emotional character. In addition to various microscopic techniques Thoma invented a method with which the specific gravity of the blood could be determined (picnometer). Thoma designed a special apparatus for vital microscopy, which allowed investigations on the physiology and pathology of the terminal bloodstream. In the 1870s, Thoma developed a device for producing wafer-thin histological paraffin sections for microscopic examination. In 1881, he presented an apparatus for counting red and white blood cells in defined blood volumes. In 1897 he described an automated process for tissue embedding. He died on 26 November 1923 in Heidelberg, aged 75. Link to Wikipedia biography (German)