Johann Friedrich Meckel the Elder (31 July 1724 – 18 September 1774) was a German anatomist born in Wetzlar.

He often has "the Elder" appended to his name to avoid confusion with his famous grandson Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781–1833), who was also an anatomist and often has "the Younger" included with his name.

Meckel earned his medical doctorate from the University of Göttingen in 1748, and in his thesis, "Tractatus anatomico physiologicus de quinto pare nervorum cerebri", he documented his discovery of the submandibular ganglion.

The collection includes mummified parts of the body, organs, skeletons and skulls, zoological as well as human anatomy.

Today the Meckelsche Sammlungen (Meckel Collection) has approximately 7000 exhibits and is housed at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Halle.