Medical Dictionary

Waldeyer's ring

noun Wal·dey·er's ring \ˈväl-ˌdī-ərz-\

Medical Definition of WALDEYER'S RING

:  a ring of lymphatic tissue formed by the two palatine tonsils, the pharyngeal tonsil, the lingual tonsil, and intervening lymphoid tissue

Biographical Note for WALDEYER'S RING

Wal·dey·er–Hartz \ˈväl-ˌdī-ər-ˈhärts\ , Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von (1836–1921), German anatomist. Waldeyer held successively the positions of professor of pathology at the University of Breslau, Germany; professor of anatomy at the University of Strasbourg, France; and professor of anatomy at the University of Berlin. As director of the department of anatomy at Berlin for more than 33 years, he gained a wide reputation as an outstanding teacher of anatomy and histology. He coined the word neuron and helped to lay the foundation upon which the neuron doctrine was established. He also coined the term chromosome to describe the bodies in the nucleus of cells. He described Waldeyer's tonsillar ring in 1884.

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