Benda

BENDA, Karl (Karl Benda, born in 1857), one of the largest pathologists. He graduated from the medical faculty of the University of Berlin in 1880; initially he worked as an assistant to Professor Orth at the Pathological Institute of Göttingen, and later as an assistant to Professor Du Bois-Reymond at the Physiological Institute of Berlin. From 1894 he moved to the position of prosector at the Berlin hospital Urban, and from 1908 at the Moabit Hospital, where he worked as a professor-prosector until 1925, when he retired on the basis of years of service. For several years Benda has been vice-president of the Berlin Medical Society. Of Benda's scientific works relating to normal histology, the most famous are his investigations into the histogenesis of spermatozoa and into the finest structure of cellular protoplasm; in these works Benda elucidated much concerning the structure, development, and functions of the mitochondria of the protoplasm. In the field of pathological anatomy Benda created a solid reputation with his works on the pathology of the vascular system, in particular on syphilis of the vessels and on the mechanics of the development of aneurysms. Finally, he proposed a number of histological staining methods and microchemical reactions, for example: the method for staining mitochondria, the method for staining the tigroid of nerve cells, the method for staining myelin fibers in frozen sections, and the so-called Benda reaction for revealing necrosis of adipose tissue.