After his
habilitation in 1894, Ludwig Aschoff was appointed
professor for
pathology at the
University of Göttingen in 1901. Aschoff transferred to the
University of Marburg in 1903 to head the department for pathological anatomy. In 1906, he accepted a position as ordinarius at the
University of Freiburg, where he remained until his death. Aschoff was interested in the pathology and
pathophysiology of the heart. He discovered nodules in the
myocardium present during
rheumatic fever, the so-called
Aschoff bodies. Aschoff's reputation attracted students from all over the world, among them
Sunao Tawara. Together they discovered and described the
atrioventricular node (AV node, Aschoff-Tawara node). Numerous travels abroad, to
England,
Canada,
Japan, and the
U.S. led to many research connections, whereas the trips to Japan proved to be especially productive. Aschoff's popularity in Japanese medicine had its roots in his work with Tawara and a journey through Japan in 1924. In the early 20th century, 23 of 26 Japanese pathological institutes were headed by students of Aschoff. Among his pathological studies was also the issue of
racial differences. "Pathology of constitution" invented by him became a special branch of research of
National Socialist (Nazi) doctors under the name of "military pathology".
Franz Buechner is reported to be Aschoff's most prominent pupil. One of Aschoff's sons,
Jürgen Aschoff, went on to become one of the founders of the field of
chronobiology. ==Death==