Ernst Friedberger (17 May 1875 – 25 January 1932) was a German immunologist and hygienist born in

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

. He was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ancestry. In 1899 he received his medical doctorate at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, and in 1901 became an assistant at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, where in 1903 he was habilitated as a lecturer in

hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

. In 1908 he attained the directorship of experimental therapy at the Institute of Pharmacology 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 ...

. From 1915 to 1926 he was professor of hygiene at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

, and afterwards director of the ''Preußischen Forschungsinstituts für Hygiene und Immunitätslehre'' (Research Institute of Hygiene and Immunology) in

Berlin-Dahlem Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and ...

. Friedberger is remembered for his investigations of

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the foll ...

. He demonstrated that the specific arrangement between

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune respons ...

antibody An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

, and

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

is accompanied by the manufacture of

anaphylatoxin Anaphylatoxins, or complement peptides, are fragments ( C3a, C4a and C5a) that are produced as part of the activation of the complement system. Complement components C3, C4 and C5 are large glycoproteins that have important functions in the immu ...

, a word he used for the poison that was supposed to be the same with the one produced

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and ...

during anaphylactic shock. Later in his career, he dealt with various aspects of the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splint ...

involving bacterial pathogens, with

epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

research, and with

issues concerning clothing, living quarters, etc.

Written works

* ''Über Kriegsseuchen einst und jetzt, ihre Bekämpfung und Verhütung''. 1917 * ''Zur Entwicklung der Hygiene im Weltkrieg'', 1919 -- Development of hygiene during the World War. * ''Untersuchungen über Wohnungsverhältnisse, insbes. über Kleinwohnungen und deren Mieter in Greifswald'', 1923 -- Studies of housing conditions in Greifswald. * ''Diphtherieepidemien der letzten Jahre, das Heilserum und die Schutzimpfung'', 1931 --

Diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

epidemics in recent years, the serum and the vaccination.Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek; list of publications

References

* This article incorporates text based on a translation of an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia. 19th-century German Jews Hygienists German immunologists 1875 births 1932 deaths Academic staff of the University of Greifswald People from Giessen {{Germany-med-bio-stub