Arthur Biedl (4 October 1869 – 26 August 1933) was a Hungarian

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

born in what today is Comloșu Mic, Romania. He studied medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, and from 1893 served as an assistant to

Salomon Stricker Salomon Stricker (1 January 1834 – 2 April 1898) was an Austrian pathologist and histologist. Career Stricker was born in Waag-Neustadtl (Hungarian: Vágújhely, now Nové Mesto nad Váhom in Slovakia). He studied at the University of Vienna, ...

(1834-1898), Philipp Knoll (1841-1900), and Richard Paltauf (1858-1924) at the institute of

experimental pathology Experimental pathology, also known as investigative pathology, is the scientific study of disease processes through the microscopic or molecular examination of organs, tissues, cells, or body fluids from diseased organisms. It is closely related ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1899 he became an associate professor, followed by a full professorship in 1902. In 1898, Biedl and colleague R. Kraus demonstrated that "bile salts," when injected into the bloodstream of animals, failed to elicit a behavioral change. They hypothesized that this was due to a semipermeable membrane that protected the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

from the passive diffusion of solutes in the bloodstream. Two years later,

Max Lewandowsky upPortrait of Lewandowsky Max Lewandowsky (28 June 1876 – 4 April 1916) was a German neurologist, who was a native of Berlin, born into a Jewish family. Personal life Lewandowsky studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg, Berlin an ...

coined the term "

Blood–brain barrier The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective semipermeable membrane, semipermeable border of endothelium, endothelial cells that prevents solutes in the circulating blood from ''non-selectively'' crossing into the extracellular fluid of ...

" when these findings were confirmed with other biological compounds.

Edwin Goldmann Edwin Goldmann (12 November 1862 – 13 August 1913) was a biomedical researcher and surgeon most famous for his contributions in first characterizing the blood–brain barrier. Discovery of the blood–brain barrier Goldmann's mentor, Paul ...

and his mentor

Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich (; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a Nobel Prize-winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Among his foremost achievements were finding a cure ...

further confirmed these findings with

aniline dye Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starting m ...

s injected inside and outside of the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

. He is considered a founder of modern

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

. In 1910, Biedl published a landmark textbook on

called ''Innere Sekretion'' (Internal Secretions), which was a thorough study on glands and their secretions. In 1922, he described his studies of two sisters who had

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

polydactyly Polydactyly or polydactylism (), also known as hyperdactyly, is an anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and/or toes. Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly (fewer fingers or toes). Signs and symptoms In humans ...

hypogonadism Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the gonads—the testes or the ovaries—that may result in diminished production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred to as hypoandrogenism and low estrogen ...

as well as obesity. Two years earlier

Georges Bardet Georges, Louis, Bardet (1885–1966) was a French physician who is known for first describing a rare genetic disease. In his graduation thesis at the University of Paris in 1920, Bardet wrote about a medical condition characterized by obesity, r ...

(1885–1966) at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

described the same symptoms in two sisters unrelated to Biedl's findings. This syndrome is now called the

Bardet–Biedl syndrome Bardet–Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a ciliopathic human genetic disorder that produces many effects and affects many body systems. It is characterized by rod/cone dystrophy, polydactyly, central obesity, hypogonadism, and kidney dysfunction in so ...

after the two men. A similar disease was originally named the "Laurence–Moon–Bardet–Biedl syndrome", together with two English physicians, John Zachariah Laurence (1829–1870) and Robert Charles Moon (1845–1914). Today this disease has been shortened to become the

Laurence–Moon syndrome Laurence–Moon syndrome (LMS) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder associated with retinitis pigmentosa, spastic paraplegia, and mental disabilities. Signs and symptoms Intellectual disability, hexadactyly, central diabetes insipidus, b ...

, while the Bardet–Biedl syndrome is recognized as a separate entity. In 1928 he founded the journal ''Endokrinologie''.

Principal works

* ''Innere Sekretion : ihre physiologischen Grundlagen und ihre Bedeutung für die Pathologie'', 1910. English translation 1912. fourth edition, with an exhaustive bibliography, 1922. * ''Physiologie und Pathologie der Hypophyse''. Berlin, 1922. * '"in Geschwisterpaar mit adiposo-genitaler Dystrophie". in: ''Deutsche medicinische Wochenschrift'', Berlin, 1922, 48: 1630.Bardet-Biedl syndrome
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

References

External links

''Arthur Biedl''
@

Biedl, Bardet, Laurence & Moon; Research on retinitis pigmentosa

A history of farm animal embryo transfer and some associated techniques by Keith J. Betteridge 1869 births 1931 deaths People from Timiș County Austrian pathologists Jewish physicians Hungarian endocrinologists Academic staff of the University of Vienna 19th-century Hungarian physicians 20th-century Hungarian physicians {{Hungary-med-bio-stub