Albert von Bezold

* 7. January 1836 in Ansbach
† 2. March 1868 in Würzburg

With the Winter Term 1854/55 von Bezold came to Würzburg to continue with his study of medicine, before going to Berlin in 1857. In the age of 23 he was appointed as extraordinary Professor in Jena and came back to Würzburg in 1865 to take over the professorial chair of Physiology.

Already in his early years Albert von Bezold was a diligent scientist, who lay the foundation of the modern cardiology through his postulation of the existence of a centre in the brain and the spinal cord that conducts a mental stimulation of the heartbeat. Also the discovery of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex goes back to the young scientist, who with his observations initially described a reflex originating from the heart, which aims to protect the organ of any damage. The reflex leads to a decrease of the heartrate and a lower blood pressure.