Wacław Mayzel was born on September 12, 1847 to Józef and Rozalia Mayzel, in Kunów, Poland. Having graduated St Ann's secondary school in Cracow in 1865, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in the Warsaw General School. Five years later, Mayzel earned a doctorate in the field. During his time as a student, and while working at Henryk Fryderyk Hoyer's Institute of Histology and Physiology, he wrote a paper titled Poszukiwania nad powstawaniem ropy, critically acclaimed by his faculty. In it, Mayzel discusses Cohnheim's claims that during inflammation, leukocytes exit blood vessels and take part in the formation of pus. After receiving a diploma cum eximia laude, Mayzel took up a position of a lab assistant in Hoyer's Histology and Embryology faculty, instructing students in microscope usage, and conducting his own research. While observing epithelium regeneration, he noticed that nuclei of some of the newly formed cells feature unknown to him grains and fibers. He then, in 1874, informed the Warsaw Medical Association about his research so as to be credited in case an important discovery is made. Eduard Strasburger and Otto Bütschli's work, published the following year, convinced Mayzel that his observations are related to the division of the nucleus, and so he presented them in a paper titled Ueber eigenthümliche Vorgänge bei der Theilung der Kerne in Epithelialzellen or O szczególnych zjawiskach przy dzieleniu się jąder w komórkach nabłonkowych. In the following years, Mayzel continued his research and published more papers, sometimes illustrating them on his own. He made observations on mitosis in living cells, including the order of changes that happen during the division, noticed an analogy in impregnation and early development of animal and plant cells, and spoke against the idea of karyolysis. He presented his research to a wider public during various medical conferences in Kraków, Berlin, Prague, Paris, London, Rome, and Madrid. Apart from the work related to mitosis, Mayzel took up educational and humanitarian activities. As a hygienist and bacteriologist, he helped set up waterworks and a sewerage system in Warsaw, and published numerous papers on microscopic water analysis. Despite not centering his career on therapeutics, Mayzel showed interest in parasitology, tuberculosis research, and medical analysis, and temporarily worked in a clinic in Warsaw. Among his interests was also urology, particularly urine analysis; in 1894, during a medical conference in Rome, he presented his own method of detecting uric acid in urine. Mayzel translated or helped translate about a dozen works into the Polish language, including Charles Darwin'sOn the Origin of Species.
Personal life
Wacław Mayzel was married to Bronisława Mayzel, and had a daughter Zofia Guźkowska.
Selected works
Poszukiwania nad powstawaniem ropy
Ueber eigenthümliche Vorgänge bei der Theilung der Kerne in Epithelialzellen
O szczególnych zjawiskach przy dzieleniu się jąder w komórkach nabłonkowych
Przyczynek do sprawy dzielenia się jąder komórkowych
Dalszy przyczynek do sprawy dzielenia się jąder komórkowych
O pierwszych zmianach w jajku zapłodnionem i o podziale komórek
O zjawiskach przy segmentacji jajek robaków i ślimaków
