Der Nachlass von Rudolf Virchow und die Stammzelle: ein Beitrag aus Russland / The heritage of Rudolf Virchow and the stem cell: a view from Russia

In the last years there were several publications about Rudolf Virchow and the cellular pathology in the former Soviet Union. The authors, who know so much about Virchow, can be informed where his library is. The Virchow’s library, comprising 12,689 volumes, was united in 1909 with the library of Berlin Medical Society. In 1944 the Library was transferred to the castle Boitzenburg (land Brandenburg), and from there, according to some witnesses, it was taken away by Soviet military trucks. Probably, the Library was brought to Moscow, in one of the institutions of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (RAMN). In the RAMN library, several editions are catalogued, which could have originated from the library of the Berlin Medical Society. Some of these catalogued books are not given out to the readers. In the Central Medical Library in Moscow there are books from 19th century with German library stamps. In conclusion, one of the motives of abundant publication about Virchow and the cellular pathology is popularization of the concept of cellular pathology in connection with stem cells and the cell therapy, which has become widespread in Russia.