Karlhanns Salfelder, was born on January 27, 1919 in Gressneuhausen; Turingia, Germany. He studied High School at the Humanistic Gymnasium of Erfurt, graduating on March 15, 1937. He studied medicine at the Universities of Muenchen, Jena and Frankfurt/M. graduating as physician on October 25, 1943 and Doctor in Medicine on October 27, 1943. He was part of the German Army from 1940 trough 1945.

He entered to the Institute of Pathological Anatomy of the University of Frankfurt on October, 1945 (Director Prof. Dr A. Lauche) working as assistant until 1950 (post degree course). He was recruited by the Tuberculosis department dependent on the Ministry of Health and Social Attendance of Venezuela and worked as pathologist at the Antitubercular Sanatorium and at the Central Hospital of Cumaná Edo. Sucre, Venezuela from October, 1950 trough September, 1951.

He became a full time professor at the University of Los Andes on October 1, 1951 carrying out, at the same time, the managing of the Pathological Anatomy Service of the "Los Andes" Hospital and of the "Venezuela" Sanatorium in Mérida.

He was teaching for several years, besides Pathological Anatomy, Normal Histology at the Faculty of Medicine, ad honorem, and worked for several years as Histology professor at the School of Bionálisis of the University of Los Andes. He was head of the Pathological Anatomy Institute of the Medicine Faculty from 1958. He was head of the Department of Pathology and permanent professor from 1963. He was Forense Pathologist from 1957. He left the managing of the Department of Pathology of the University of Los Andes and the post of pathologist at the Forensic Clinic of Mérida State on May, 1979. From that date on he works as Director of the "Pathology Research laboratory", Medicine faculty, University of Los Andes, Mérida. On January 1, 1983 he retired from the University of Los Andes, but he continued working at the Research laboratory.

He wrote several books and gave numerous workshops and seminars with histological slides, in several countries. He has trained the technical personnel and the pathologists of the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy and from other Chairs. He worked four times in Institutes of Pathological Anatomy in the United States: two months in the AFIP in Washington (1960), a year (sabbatical) in Cincinnati (1963/64), three months (permissions again) in Cincinnati (1967) and a second sabbatical year (1973/74) in the department of Pathology of the University of Cincinnati, USA.

He presented numerous articles in Congresses and International Conferences. He was invited to present papers to international conferences: Teheran/Iran (1968); Salzburg/Austria (1969); Paris and Medellín (1971); Münich (1972), Hamburg and Sao Paulo (1974), Brasilia (1977); Atlanta, Georgia, USA (1978). He was Visiting Professor giving 3 conferences in the Department of Pathology of the University of Miami, USA in 1970. He has published more than 200 scientific works, among them books, atlas, monograph and contributions to international manuals and books in Spanish, English and German. For more than 10 year he has been publishing the results of his scientific research in books and atlas, and not in scientific magazines.

He acquired the Venezuelan nationality in 1956. He revalidated his title of Doctor at the University of Los Andes, Mérida in 1972. He was honoured with the "Francisco de Miranda" order, in his second class on 1977, and with the "Cruz del Ministerio de Sanidad y Asistencia Social", 1st. Class, in 1990. And with the "Dr. Tulio Febres Cordero" order, 2nd. Class in 1993. He was awarded with the "Dr. Tulio Feres Cordero" order in its 1st. Class on May 05, 1996. He was also awarded with the Bicentennial distinction of the University of Los Andes on December 15, 1998. He received the "Premio Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología" for the year 2002.

He is member of the Researcher Promotion Program (PPI by its Spanish abbreviation) in the Level III Category accredited on July 01, 1991 to 4 years. He was awarded with the Exact and Natural Sciences Award on 1993 "Health Sciences mention" on September 16, 1993.

He is married and he has 4 children born in Mérida (Barbara, Andrés, Karola and Susana). Barbara is dermatologist; she graduated in Mainz, Germany and Andrés is gynaecologist; he graduated in Hamburg, Germany.