In 1881, Ribbert noted large cells in kidney cells of a stillborn, which he later described as
''protozoan-like''in 1904. These large cells had eccentric nuclei surrounded by a clear halo.
Ribbert did not appreciate the significance of his findings until he read the report by
Gesionek and Kiolemenoglou published in the same year, describing similar structures in
the lungs, liver, and kidney of an 8-month-old fetus. In Ribbert's laboratory in 1907,
Lowenstein found these protozoan-like large cells in the parotid glands of infants …