Remembering Professor Dr. med. vet. Helmut Waibl

With great sadness we have to report that on 17 June 2026, at the age of 81,

Professor Dr. med. vet. Helmut Waibl, Institute of Anatomy, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation (TiHo), peacefully passed away.

Helmut Waibl was a long-standing member of the EAVA. Under his presidency, the European Association of Veterinary Anatomists (EAVA) introduced a new Board of Young Scientists, the Young Generation of Veterinary Anatomists (YGVA), which has since consistently organized biennial international congresses with the aim of promoting the next generation of researchers in an attractive manner, specifically offering ‘young’ scientists a platform for international professional exchange at the highest level. The World Association of Veterinary Anatomists (WAVA) elected him as Vice-President. He served first as Secretary and then as Chairman of the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature (ICVGAN). Under his auspices the fifth edition of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria was published 2005. In recognition of his outstanding commitment, he was appointed an honorary member of the EAVA in the year 2008.

Helmut Waibl started his career at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. After making experiences in different European Universities (Berne, Toulouse) he was appointed as C4 Professor of Anatomy and Director of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Veterinary Medicine (TiHo) in Hannover. Shaped by the anatomical school of his famous teachers in Munich, who had made a deep impression on him, and by the various facets of the academic environment there, he brought with him a set of fundamental principles to which he remained steadfastly true at the TiHo. Nevertheless, he introduced some unusual approaches and established new formats, thereby leaving a lasting mark on the institute during his 15 years there – a mark that remains evident in certain respects even after his retirement in July 2007.

Helmut Waibl conducted his work in close collaboration with the clinical departments; whilst his publications covered a wide range of topics, he later devoted himself primarily to functional arthrology. With regard to diagnostic imaging and surgery, he enjoyed working closely with the Clinic and Polyclinic for Small Animals at the Free University of Berlin. In the process, he developed a particular passion for arthroscopy and became a highly regarded speaker at clinical conferences. For many years, he was co-editor of the journal *Kleintierpraxis*. The DVG honoured him by awarding him the Richard-Völker Medal.

At the Institute, he had the Anatomical Collection – previously accessible only to teaching staff as a specimen storage – converted into a freely accessible area for students: the ‘sacred halls’ once reserved for insiders were transformed into a quiet place of retreat and study that proved very popular, thereby filling a significant gap on the “old” campus at the Braunschweiger Platz between and after lectures and courses.

Helmut Waibl was co-editor and co-author of the new editions of numerous textbooks, for example several volumes of the ‘Nickel, Schummer, Seiferle’ series and the atlases of radiographic anatomy of dogs and cats.

Within the TiHo’s university governing bodies and in his role as Vicepresident for Teaching, he took on numerous responsibilities in academic self-governance.

For many – students and staff in Hannover – the name Helmut Waibl will evoke vivid memories of his distinctive style. They, along with colleagues elsewhere – for example in Berlin, Munich, Giessen, Ghent, Toulouse, Zurich – bid him farewell with grateful remembrance.

Profs Christiane Pfarrer, Hagen Gasse, Ralph Brehm, Leo Brunnberg, Johann Maierl