Friedrich Sigmund Merkel

Friedrich Sigmund Merkel (5 April 1845 – 28 May 1919) was a leading German anatomist and histopathologist of the late 19th century.

In 1875, he provided the first full description of Tastzellen (touch cells), which occur in the skin of all vertebrates.

In 1869 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Erlangen, becoming habilitated in the field of anatomy during the following year.

He published a multivolume textbook on human anatomy and originated the color scheme used by most anatomy texts today: red for arteries, blue for veins, and yellow for nerves.

[2] He introduced xylene as a clearing agent in histology, and it is still used today[3] Two of his better known assistants were Dietrich Barfurth (1849-1927) and Hermann Kuhnt (1850-1925).