biology

Otto Jírovec

Otto Jírovec is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Otto Jírovec rather than just read about it. In short: Otto Jírovec (January 31, 1907 – March 7, 1972) was a Czechoslovak professor of parasitology and protozoology. A significant fungus parasite of humans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, is named in his honour.

Key takeaways

Otto Jírovec belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Otto Jírovec to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Otto Jírovec from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Otto Jírovec (January 31, 1907 – March 7, 1972) was a Czechoslovak professor of parasitology and protozoology. A significant fungus parasite of humans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, is named in his honour. Pneumocystis jirovecii (formerly known as the human form of Pneumocystis carinii; originally spelled P. jiroveci when believed to be a protozoan) causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).

Early life and education Jírovec was born in Prague. In 1929 he obtained a doctorate at the Faculty of Science at the Charles University in Prague. From 1930 to 1932 he worked as a lecturer, and in 1933 he became an associate professor. During the war he worked as head of the Parasitology Laboratory at the State Health Institute. After the war, he returned to the faculty of the university. In 1948 he was again appointed associate professor at the Charles University in Prague. In the years 1949–1952 Jírovec led the Department of Zoology, and later managed a zoological institute. From 1954 to 1961 he led the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Laboratory of Parasitology.

Research Otto Jirovec started his career studying microsporidia. He also published work on Trichomonas vaginalis, Leptospirra, and Toxoplasma. In his professional work he focused in particular on the study of parasitic protozoa, both in temperate and in tropical regions. One of his most important discoveries was the pathogen causing Pneumocystis pneumonia, which he made with the pathologist Josef Vaněk in 1953. Jírovec continued to make contributions to the understanding of the epidemiology of PCP and the development of the parasite.

Books Otto Jírovec wrote 11 books, published some 280 research articles, and 250 articles popularizing research work.

Awards Otto Jírovec received various awards for his work. He was a member of the Royal Czech Society of Sciences, Masaryk Academy of Labor and the Czechoslovak National Council research. In 1953, he became a corresponding member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Medical Faculty of Humboldt University in Berlin and the Faculty of Science of the University of Clermont-Ferrand.

References

External links Otto Jirovec Negatives Collection Archived 2005-08-30 at the Wayback Machine Quido

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Otto Jírovec

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Otto Jírovec claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Otto Jírovec before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Otto Jírovec ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Otto Jírovec

In research: Otto Jírovec appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Otto Jírovec in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Otto Jírovec is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1907 births, 1972 deaths, Charles University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Otto Jírovec outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Otto Jírovec in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Otto Jírovec means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Otto Jírovec out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Otto Jírovec in simple terms?

Why does Otto Jírovec matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Otto Jírovec?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Otto Jírovec.