Christoph Theodor Aeby
Christoph Theodor Aeby was a Swiss anatomist, anthropologist, and academic. His main scientific interest was comparative anatomy and his studies were said to be facilitated by a large collection of bones, which he assembled in Bern. He is particularly noted for his work on the bronchial tree, which was published as a monograph in 1880. Through his work, a term in anthropology was named after him - the "Aeby's plane", which pertains to the plane through the nasion and brasion.
Biography
Aeby was born in Phalsbourg, Lorraine, France. He was the son of a farmer who owned a large tract of land in Alsace. He studied medicine at Basel and Göttingen. In 1863 he was named a professor of anatomy at the University of Bern, and in 1884 at the University of Prague as successor to Carl Toldt. Some of his noted students include the surgeons Stefania Berlinerblau and César Roux.He died in Bilin, Bohemia at the age of 50.
Works
He is best known for his contributions to anthropology, which include a new and valuable craniometric method. He performed research of microcephaly, publishing Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Mikrocephalie as a result. He also demonstrated the influence of atmospheric pressure on the several joints of the human body, and conducted significant studies involving the upper respiratory tract. In 1878, Aeby is also credited for describing the muscle rectus labi proprius.A mountain climber, he was co-author of Das Hochgebirge von Grindelwald.
Associated eponyms
- "Aeby's muscle": The depressor labii inferioris muscle.
- "Aeby's plane": A craniometric plane. It passes through the nasion and basion perpendicular to the median plane of the cranium.