Theodor Langhans

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Theodor Langhans (September 28, 1839 - October 22, 1915) was a German pathologist who was a native of Usingen, Hesse. He studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, and in Gottingen under Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (1809-1885), at Berlin under Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902) and in Wurzburg, where he became an assistant to Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen (1833-1910). In 1867 he became a lecturer at the University of Marburg, and in 1872 became a full professor of pathology at the University of Giessen, where he succeeded Ludwig Franz Alexander Winther (1812-1871).

From 1872 until 1912, Langhans was a professor of pathological anatomy at the University of Bern, where one of his assistants was surgeon Fritz de Quervain (1868-1940).

Langhans is remembered for his discovery of multi-nucleated giant cells that are found in granulomatous conditions, and are now referred to as Langhans giant cells. His name is also associated with "Langhans layer", which is a cytotrophoblastic layer in the chorionic villi.