Gustav Theodor Fritsch (March 5, 1837 - June 12, 1927) was German anatomist and physiologist from Cottbus, best known for his work with neuropsychiatrist Eduard Hitzig (1839-1907) on the electric localization of the motor areas of the brain. In 1870 they probed the cerebral cortex of a dog to discover that electrical stimulation of different areas of the cerebrum caused involuntary muscular contractions of specific parts of the dog's body. Fritsch studied natural science and medicine in Berlin, Breslau and Heidelberg. In 1874 he became extraordinary professor of physiology at the University of Berlin, and later was head of the histological department of the physiological institute. Along with his medical studies, Fritsch was also known for his ethnographical research in South Africa (1863-68), study of electric eels, and archaelogical and zoological journeys to Egypt and Anatolia.
Selected Works
- Drei Jahre in Süd-Afrika: Reiseskizzen nach Notizen des Tagebuchs zusammengestellt. (Three years in South Africa: Travelogs arranged after notes of the diary) Hirt, Breslau 1868
- Ueber die elektrische Erregbarkeit des Grosshirns. Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medicin: (with Eduard Hitzig) 300-332, 1870
- Die Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika's: ethnographisch und anatomisch beschrieben. (Ethnographic and anatomic research in South Africa) Hirt, Breslau 1872
- Vergleichend-anatomische Betrachtung der elektrischen Organe von Gymnotus electricus. (Comparative anatomical view of the electrical organs of Gymnotus electricus) Veit, Leipzig 1881
