Virchow Bibliothek [2021] Jun 2026

Beyond its modern holdings, the library also possesses treasures of medical history. These include a first edition of Virchow's own "Cellularpathologie" from 1858. Other rare works in the collection are Robert Carswell's "Pathological Anatomy" (1833-1838), a landmark atlas with hand-colored lithographs, and Ignaz Semmelweis's "Die Aetiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers" (1861), which first proposed that puerperal fever was caused by contaminated hands—a revolutionary idea for its time.

: For publishing a thesis, use the Refubium Repository , the official digital repository for Charité.

To understand the weight of the name Virchow , one must first understand the man. Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) was a towering figure in 19th-century science. Often referred to as the "Father of Cellular Pathology," Virchow fundamentally changed how the medical world viewed diseases. His groundbreaking biological theory, omnis cellula a cellula ("all cells come from cells"), posited that diseases arise not from the whole organism, but from individual cells. virchow bibliothek

The library subscribes to over 500 current print journals and provides electronic access to roughly 3,000 e-journals. The focus is unapologetically clinical: internal medicine, pathology, anatomy, physiology, and neurology.

This is the crown jewel. The library holds a significant portion of Virchow’s personal library, including his annotated copies of pathology textbooks, his political pamphlets (he was also a fierce advocate for social medicine and served on the Berlin City Council), and his correspondence with Robert Koch and Emil du Bois-Reymond. Access to this section is restricted but available to historians of medicine upon application. Beyond its modern holdings, the library also possesses

Are you doing ?

: Today, the "Virchow Bibliothek" is less a physical place you can visit and more a dispersed collection : For publishing a thesis, use the Refubium

To understand the Virchow Bibliothek, one must first understand the man behind the name. Rudolf Virchow revolutionized medicine by articulating the concept that diseases arise not in organs or tissues as a whole, but within individual cells. His dictum, "Omnis cellula e cellula" (Every cell originates from another cell), changed biology forever.

Unlike many modern medical libraries that are hyper-specialized, this collection reflects the 19th-century "universalist" approach. You’ll find texts on public health, social reform, and anthropology alongside surgical manuals.

As a world-class medical library, it serves the information needs of one of Europe's largest university hospitals. It offers:

Are you writing a or a clinical research paper , and would you like details on how to book a specific writing consultation at the library?