Brouria Feldman-Muhsam (; 18 December 1916 – 2008) was an Israeli medical entomologist and parasitologist known for her pioneering work with mites and ticks. After earning her Teaching Certificate at Levinsky College of Education in Tel-Aviv in 1935, Feldman-Muhsam enrolled in the University of Geneva in Switzerland and completed her licence ès sciences in biology there in 1937, qualifying her for doctoral studies. She returned to Mandate Palestine in 1937 and earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Medical Entomology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating in 1942.
Career After completing her Ph.D., Feldman-Muhsam worked as a research associate in the cancer research laboratory of the Hebrew University Medical School from 1942 to 1944. In 1944 she became a research associate in the Department of Parasitology at Hebrew University Medical School, and from 1961 to 1969 she was a senior lecturer there.< In 1968 she was appointed an associate professor and named head of the Department of Medical Entomology of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was promoted to full professor in 1976.
During her career, Feldman-Muhsam contributed over 100 articles to scientific journals including the Journal of Parasitology, Science, Nature, and other refereed journals, and photographed and produced science films on tick copulation and the movement of sperm in ticks. She is perhaps best known for her research on the physiology and ecology of ticks, particularly in defining the function of the areae porosae,George Anastos, Thomas S. Kaufman, and Sampurno Kadarsan. 1973. An Unusual Reproductive Process in Ixodes kopsteini (Acarina: Ixodidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 66(2):483-484. "The function of the areae porosae was unknown until Feldman-Muhsam (1963) demonstrated that they are outlets of the accessory glands of Gene’s organ. FeIdman-Muhsam and Havivi (1960) stated that the accessory glands apparently contribute to the secretions of Gene’s organ which serve to coat and to protect the eggs in the external environment." and delineating the processes of tick copulation and reproduction. Her lifelong acarological collection is preserved in the Medical Parasitology Collection of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.D. Golani and M.N. Ben-Eliahu: Haasiana, Newsletter of the Biological Collections of the Hebrew University, No. 2, March, 2004, Jerusalem, Israel, http://nnhc.huji.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/hasiana/Haasiana%202%202004.pdf, retrieved 11 Jul 2018, retrieved 8 Jul 2018.
Personal life and death Brouria Feldman was born on 18 December 1916 in Jerusalem, a daughter of Uria and Hanna (née Weinshenker) Feldman. She married in 1937 Helmut V. Muhsam, whom she met at the University of Geneva. Following his graduation with a doctorate in physics in 1937, they moved to Israel where he was on the faculty of Hebrew University.Guide to the Papers of the Muehsam Family, 1828-1999, AR 25021 / MF 736, processed by Dianne Ritchey and Stanislav Pejša. Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, New York, NY, USA, http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=121494, retrieved 30 Jun 2018.
Feldman-Muhsam died in Jerusalem in 2008.
Honors Feldman-Muhsam was selected the Helen Marr Kirbey Fellow of the International Association of University Women, in 1944; recipient of the Henrietta Szold prize, Municipality of Tel-Aviv, in 1955; recipient of a research grant awarded by the United States Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, in 1955; election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine; and election to be president of the Israel Society of Parasitology 1983–1988.Marquis Who's Who in the World, 13th edition. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who, 1995.I. J. Carmin Karpman, ed.: Who's Who in World Jewry. A Biographical Dictionary of Outstanding Jews. New York: Pitman Publishing Corp., 1972.I. J. Carmin Karpman, ed.: Who's Who in World Jewry. A Biographical Dictionary of Outstanding Jews. Tel-Aviv, Israel: Olive Books of Israel, 1978."Jewish Girls from Poland and Palestine Win Research Fellowships in Washington", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Washington (May 28, 1944); "Miss Browria Feldman-Muhsam of Jerusalem [was one of three] recipients of international research fellowships for 1944-45 awarded here during the week-end by the American section of the International Federation of University Women. … Miss Feldman-Muhsam, who is 28 years old, received a $1,500 fellowship raised by the Texas State Division of the American Association of University Women. She has published a series of important researches on the Levant house fly. She has studied in Geneva, Switzerland, as well as the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she will make additional experiments."
Acari described by Feldman-Muhsam Feldman-Muhsam was the first to describe following species of Acari.
Haemaphysalis adleri Feldman-Muhsam, 1951Feldman-Muhsam, B. 1951. A note on East Mediterranean species of the genus Haemaphysalis. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, 1:96-107. "H. adleri has been found only in Israel and was first found on golden jackals [Canis aureus (Carnivora: Canidae)] and described as a new species of tick (Feldman-Muhsam, 1951)." Haemaphysalis erinacei Feldman-Muhsam, 1951, currently a synonym of Haemaphysalis erinacei Pavesi, 1884Feldman-Muhsam, B. 1953. On the identity of Haemaphysalis erinacei, and H. taurica. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel. 2: 372-378 (gives priority to Pavesi). Rhipicephalus gertrudae Feldman-Muhsam, 1960 Rhipicephalus secundus Feldman-Muhsam, 1952, currently a synonym of Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantsev, 1936 Podapolipus coccinellae Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi, 1972 Podapolipus peruvensis Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi, 1974 Podapolipus tribolii Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi, 1972 Adlerocystis ornithodori Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi, 1963 Adlerocystis parkeri Feldman-Muhsam and Havivi, 1963 Nuttallia adleri Feldman-Muhsam, 1962, currently a synonym of Babesia merionis (Rousselot, 1953)Feldman-Muhsam, B. 1962. On Nuttallia adleri of Meriones tristrami. Sonderdruck aus den Verhandlungen des XI. Internationaler Kongress für Entomologie, Wien, 1960, Bd. III:91-94.
Acari named in her honor Haemaphysalis muhsamae Santos Dias, 1954Santos Dias, J. A. T. (1954). Mais uma nova espécies de carraça do género Haemaphysalis C. L. Koch, 1885, para a fauna de Moçambique. Memórias e Estudos do Museu Zoológico da Universidade de Coimbra, 225:1–9. Rhipicephalus muhsamae Morel & Vassiliades, 1965Morel, P.C., Vassiliades, G., 1965. Description de Rhipicephalus muhsamae n. sp. de l'Ouest Africain (groupe de Rh. simus; acariens: Ixodoidea). Revue d'élevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Tome XVII (nouvelle série) (4):619-636. "Le nom de la nouvelle espèce a été choisi en hommage à M'me B. Feldman-Muhsam, pour l’importance de ses travaux sur l’utilisation du gonopore des femelles dans la systématique des Hyalomma et Rhipicephalus, et pour l’aide apportée au début de nos études sur ce dernier genre." Eutrombidium feldmanmuhsamae Feider, 1977Z. Feider. 1977. Contribution à la Connaissance des Larves D'acariens du Bassin Oriental de la Mediterranee. Israel Journal of Zoology, 26(1-2): 100-113. - "The author describes two new species, Eutrombidium feldmanmuhsamae n.sp. and Allothrombium chanaanense n. sp., from their larval forms. They differ from the other larval species of the same genera in scutal and scutellal morphology, in aspect and number of body setae and in leg setae tabulation." Kurosapolipus feldmanmuhsamae Husband and Li, 1993
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