[Wilhelm His Senior--the life and work of the important Leipzig morphologist]

The paper describes the life, work and personality of Wilhelm His, the prominent morphologist who taught at Leipzig University between 1872 and 1904. It therefore contains details from the history of medicine in the second half of the last century. Mention is made of the character features which made the work of Wilhelm His so successful and brought him worldwide recognition--a ceaseless thirst for knowledge, enormous diligence and an unwavering love of truth.