"Johann Friedrich Meckel the Elder (July 31, 1724 – September 18, 1774) was a German anatomist born in Wetzlar. He often has "the Elder" appended to his name to avoid confusion with his famous grandson Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781–1833), who was also an anatomist and often has "the Younger" included with his name. The elder Meckel´s son, Philipp Friedrich Theodor Meckel (1755–1803) and another grandson, August Albrecht Meckel (1790–1829) were also anatomists.
Meckel earned his medical doctorate from the University of Göttingen in 1748, and in his thesis, "Tractatus anatomico physiologicus de quinto pare nervorum cerebri", he documented his discovery of the submandibular ganglion. Subsequently, he moved to Berlin, where he worked as a prosector and taught classes on midwifery. In 1751 he became a professor of anatomy, botany and obstetrics." - (en.wikipedia.org 25.12.2019)
