Inclusive Anatomy
Historical Timeline
1800
1839
Jan Evangelista Purkyně
Jan Evangelista Purkyně identified specialized subendocardial branches while studying the cardiac conduction system in sheep.[1]
1845
Jan Evangelista Purkyně
Purkyně published Mikroskopisch-neurologische Beobachtungen (Microscopic Neurological Observations), providing a detailed microscopic description of the subendocardial fiber network and proposing its functional significance.[2]
1852
Rudolf Albert Kölliker
Rudolf Albert Kölliker introduced the term Purkinje fibers, formally recognizing the importance of Purkyně’s discovery and integrating it into the understanding of cardiac conduction physiology.[3]
Present
Eponym:
Subendocardial branches are eponymously known as Purkinje fibers, named after Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787-1869), a Czech anatomist and physiologist. Purkyně was born in Bohemia and initially joined the Piarist monastic order to pursue education. He later left the order to study medicine at the Universitas Carolo-Ferdinandea in Prague, where he earned his medical degree in 1818.[2]
He held a long-term professorship at the University of Breslau, where he conducted many of his most influential studies, before returning to Prague in 1850 as Chair of Physiology.[2] His identification of subendocardial conducting fibers in 1839 marked a major advance in cardiac physiology.[2]
Scientific Contributions:
Jan Evangelista Purkyně - Image Obtained From: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Beyond his work on the cardiac conduction system, Purkyně made significant contributions to experimental physiology and pharmacology. He advocated for empirical approaches to drug testing and conducted self-experiments with numerous pharmacological agents.[2] Purkyně also played a key role in establishing one of the earliest physiology institutes at the University of Breslau in 1839.[6] His name is associated with several additional eponyms, including Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, the Purkinje effect, and Purkinje images, reflecting his broad impact across physiology, neuroscience, and sensory science.
References
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Anderson RH, Yanni J, Boyett MR, Chandler NJ, Dobrzynski H. The anatomy of the cardiac conduction system. Clin Anat. 2009;22(1):99-113. doi:10.1002/ca.20700
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Cavero I, Guillon JM, Holzgrefe HH. Reminiscing about Jan Evangelista Purkinje: a pioneer of modern experimental physiology. Adv Physiol Educ. 2017;41(4):528-538. doi:10.1152/advan.00068.2017
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Eliska O. Purkynova vlákna prevodního systému srdce--historie a soucasnost Purkynových objevů [Purkynje fibers of the heart conduction system--history and the present time]. Cas Lek Cesk. 2006;145(4):329-335.
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Brozek J, Kuthan V, Arens K. Contributions to the history of psychology: LXXXIII. J.E. Purkinje and Mathias Klotz: who first described "the phenomenon"?. Percept Mot Skills. 1991;73(2):511-514. doi:10.2466/pms.1991.73.2.511
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Judaš M, Sedmak G. Purkynĕ’s contributions to neuroscience and biology: Part I. Transl Neurosci. 2011;2(3):270-280. doi:10.2478/s13380-011-0031-4
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Grzybowski A, Pietrzak K. Jan Evangelista Purkynje (1787-1869): first to describe fingerprints. Clin Dermatoll. 33: 117-121, 2015. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2014.07.011.
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