Bernhard Naunyn (2 September 1839 – 26 July 1925) was German
pathologist
Pathology is the study of the 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 used in t ...
born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.
Biography
After receiving his degree at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
in 1863, he became an assistant to pathologist
Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs (1819–1885) at the
Charité. Afterwards he was the head of medical clinics in
Dorpat
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
(1869–1871),
Bern (1871–1872),
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
(1872–1888), and
Strasbourg, where he also taught at the
Imperial University (1888–1904).
Naunyn is remembered for his work in
experimental pathology, particularly metabolic pathology; also referred to as
xenobiotic
A xenobiotic is a chemical substance found within an organism that is not naturally produced or expected to be present within the organism. It can also cover substances that are present in much higher concentrations than are usual. Natural compo ...
metabolism
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run c ...
. It was during the time he spent working at Frerich's clinic in Berlin that he became interested in the metabolic pathology regarding the
liver
The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...
,
pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an en ...
and other internal organs. In his studies of the fermentation processes of the
stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
, he noticed the "contra-fermentation" properties of
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms ...
. He discovered that the human organism excreted
phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it ...
after it had received benzene. With physician
Otto Schultzen (1837–1875) he discovered that benzene-derived
hydrocarbons
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or e ...
in the body had the ability to perform chemistry that was not possible for chemists to achieve in a conventional laboratory.
With
pharmacologist
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemic ...
Oswald Schmiedeberg
Johann Ernst Oswald Schmiedeberg (10 October 1838 – 12 July 1921) was a Baltic German pharmacologist. In 1866 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Dorpat with a thesis concerning the measurement of chloroform in blood, before ...
(1838–1921) and pathologist
Edwin Klebs
Theodor Albrecht Edwin Klebs (6 February 1834 – 23 October 1913) was a German-Swiss microbiologist. He is mainly known for his work on infectious diseases. His works paved the way for the beginning of modern bacteriology, and inspired Louis ...
(1834–1913) he founded ''
Archiv für experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie'' (now published as ''
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology
''Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology'' (formerly ''Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Archiv für Pharmakologie'' and ''Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Archiv für Pharmakologie und experimentelle Pathologie'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of pharmaco ...
''), and in 1896 with
surgeon Jan Mikulicz-Radecki
Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (german: Johann Freiherr von Mikulicz-Radecki) was a German-Polish-Austrian surgeon who worked mainly in the German Empire. He was born on 16 May 1850 in Czerniowce in the Austrian Empire (present-day Chernivtsi in Ukraine) ...
(1850–1905) he founded ''
Mitteilungen aus dem Grenzgebieten der Medizin und Chirurgie''. A famous student of Naunyn's was
Otto Loewi
Otto Loewi (; 3 June 1873 – 25 December 1961) was a German-born pharmacologist and psychobiologist who discovered the role of acetylcholine as an endogenous neurotransmitter. For his discovery he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or M ...
(1873–1961), who was the winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
in 1936.
His grave is preserved in the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
''Friedhof II der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde'' (Cemetery No. II of the congregations of
Jerusalem's Church and
New Church) in
Berlin-Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it has b ...
, south of
Hallesches Tor
The Hallesches Tor was located in today's Berlin district Kreuzberg south of Mehringplatz. Today, as a historic monument listed underground station on the site of the former gate bears the name ''Hallesches Tor''. It is a major transfer point f ...
.
Cholelithiasis and diabetes research
Naunyn made contributions in his research of
cholelithiasis
A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...
and
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
. He published an important treatise on diabetes titled ''
Der Diabetes mellitus'' (1898), and his ''
Klinik der Cholelithiasis'' was translated into English by
Archibald Garrod
Sir Archibald Edward Garrod (25 November 1857 – 28 March 1936) was an English physician who pioneered the field of inborn errors of metabolism. He also discovered alkaptonuria, understanding its inheritance. He served as Regius Professor of ...
(1857–1936) as "A treatise on cholelithiasis" (1896). With
Oskar Minkowski
Oskar Minkowski (; 13 January 1858 – 18 July 1931) was a German physician and physiologist who held a professorship at the University of Breslau and is most famous for his research on diabetes. He was the brother of the mathematician Hermann M ...
(1858–1931), he theorized that
bile pigment
Bilins, bilanes or bile pigments are biological pigments formed in many organisms as a metabolic product of certain porphyrins. Bilin (also called bilichrome) was named as a bile pigment of mammals, but can also be found in lower vertebrates, inve ...
formation was a function of liver cells alone, however this theory was later disproved by John William McNee in 1913.
Naunyn proposed a strict
low-carbohydrate diet
Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein (e.g., meat, ...
for diabetic patients. He was one of the few German researchers influenced by the
Cantani system who locked patients in their rooms for months at a time when necessary for them to abstain from sugar.
Frederick Madison Allen described Naunyn as a "champion of strict carbohydrate-free diet in a German medical congress where most of the speakers opposed it".
In 1889, it was noted that "Naynyn, who, in accordance with the principles of Cantani, demands the strictest meat-diet." However, Naunyn later relaxed his dietary treatment based on the tolerance of caloric and carbohydrate requirements for each patient. In 1906, Naunyn was the first to use the term "
acidosis
Acidosis is a process causing increased acidity in the blood and other body tissues (i.e., an increase in hydrogen ion concentration). If not further qualified, it usually refers to acidity of the blood plasma.
The term ''acidemia'' describes ...
", by which he meant the accumulation of
ketone bodies.
[L'Esperance, Francis A; James, William A. (1981). ''Diabetic Retinopathy: Clinical Evaluation and Management''. Mosby. p. 118. ]
References
External links
ISSX (international Society for the Study of Xenobiotics), BiographyISSX (international Society for the Study of Xenobiotics), Oxidation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naunyn, Bernhard
1839 births
1925 deaths
German diabetologists
German pathologists
Low-carbohydrate diet advocates
Physicians from Berlin
People from the Province of Brandenburg
Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg