Joseph Paneth (6 October 1857 – 4 January 1890) was an Austrian physiologist born in Vienna. Paneth is remembered for his description of "Paneth cells", which are cells that provide host defense against microbes in the mucosa of the small intestine. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Vienna, where he worked with physiologist Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke (1819-1892). After a short stay at the University of Breslau, he returned to Vienna, where in 1886 he became a lecturer at the university. In 1883-84 he worked at the zoological station at Villefranche, near Nice.