Jan Evangelista Purkyně/Purkinje (1787-1869) and the establishment of cellular physiology--Wrocław/Breslau as a central European cradle for a new science.

Being a professor of physiology in Wrocław/Breslau till the half of nineteenth century, Jan Evangelista Purkyně/Purkinje made, along with his students, many crucial discoveries combining original experimental approaches with new advanced microscopy and histology techniques. Here, he established first Institute of Physiology worldwide and created a framework for the new science of cellular physiology. With his work, he not only substantially contributed to the establishment of cellular and protoplasmic concepts in biology but represented a rare type of Central European scholar by bridging communities separated by ethnicity and language.