Meirowsky, emil

(¤ 1876, † 1960) Dermatologist, working in Graudenz, Cologne, Indianapolis (USA).

Meirowsky studied at the universities of Berlin and Königsberg. Doctorate in 1901. He spent his hospital service and assistant time at the Berlin Polyclinic with Oscar Werler, in Breslau with Albert Neisser, in Hamburg with Paul Gerson Unna. In 1920 he was habilitated at the University of Cologne, which appointed him associate professor one year later. He was chairman of the Cologne Medical Association and member of the German Democratic Party. On November 24, 1933, his teaching license at the University of Cologne was revoked. In February 1936 he was stripped of all academic titles. In 1938 Meirowsky was forced to give up his practice. In 1939 he emigrated to England. In 1947 he emigrated to the USA.

Meirowsky initially researched the origins of melanin. In 1906 he proved that the epidermis produces melanin. The Meirowsky phenomenon is named after him, an ash-grey pigmentation that occurs immediately after or during irradiation of the skin in the 400-450nm range (immediate pigmentation). This colour tone can also be caused by temperature influences on the skin. Furthermore, he dealt with the physiology and pathology of cornification of the epidermis.

His daughter Lisamaria Meirowsky, also a doctor, was murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1942.

1. Findlay GH et al (1966) The Meirowsky Phenomenon. Colour Changes in Melanin According to Temperature and Redox Potential. Br J Dermatol 78 572-576
2. Hollander A (1960) Emil Meirowsky Arch Dermatol 82: 644
3. Meirowsky E et al (1948) Some Aspects of the Physiology and Pathology of Cornification. J Invest Dermatol 10: 343-61
4. Meirowsky E et al (1953) Molecular Aspects of Cornification. J Invest Dermatol 21: 83-90