Oskar Langendorff (1 February 1853 in Breslau – 10 May 1908 in Rostock; his first name is sometimes given as "Oscar") was a German physician and physiologist known primarily for his experiments on the isolated perfused heart, the so-called Langendorff Heart apparatus. In addition, he is credited with discoveries in respiration and in the conduction of impulses in the sympathetic and peripheral nervous system. His work has served as the basis for the use of retrograde perfusion in science and medicine.

Scientific career

After studying medicine in Wrocław (Breslau), Berlin and Freiburg im Breisgau Langendorff obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Königsberg in 1875, subsequently working there as a research assistant. He received his habilitation in 1879 with the physiologist Ludimar Hermann and after 1884 held a post as associate professor. In 1886, he was elected to membership in the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. From 1892 till his death in 1908 Langendorff was professor and director of the physiological institute at the University of Rostock.

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