Magnus John Karl August Forssman (22 November 1868 – 12 March 1947) was a Swedish

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 ...

and

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

born in Kalmar.A History of Immunology
by Arthur M. Silverstein He received his education at the University of Lund, where he later served as a professor of general pathology, bacteriology and public health science. From 1927 to 1930 he was director of the university hospital. He is known for discovery of the "

Forssman antigen The Forssman antigen is a glycolipid heterophil protein and a type of heterogenetic antigen found in certain animals like dogs, horses, cats, turtles and sheep, and enteric organisms such as pneumococci. In sheep, it is found on erythrocytes but n ...

", defined as a

glycolipid Glycolipids are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the connec ...

heterophile antigen Heterophile antigens are antigens of similar nature, if not identical, that are present in different tissues in different biological species, classes, or kingdoms. Usually different species have different antigen sets, but the hetereophile antigen ...

found on

tissue cell Tissue may refer to: Biology * Tissue (biology), an ensemble of similar (or dissimilar in structure but same in origin) cells that together carry out a specific function * ''Triphosa haesitata'', a species of geometer moth ("tissue moth") found in ...

s of many animal species. It was first described for ovine

red cells Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

. It is not present in human, rat, rabbit, porcine or bovine cells. His name is also associated with the following two terms: "Forssman antibody" ( heterophile antibody) and "Forssman reaction", also referred to as a "Forssman antigen-antibody reaction". Grave of swedish professor John Forssman lund sweden

Grave of swedish professor John Forssman lund sweden

Writings

* ''Über die Ursachen, welche die Wachsthumsrichtung der peripheren Nervenfasern bei der Regeneration bestimmen'', 1898 - On the causes, of which the growth direction of

peripheral nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

fibers are determined in regeneration. * ''Studien über die Antitoxinbildung bei aktiver Immunisierung gegen Botulismus'' (in Centralblatt für Bakteriologie, 1905) - Studies on antitoxin formation for active immunization against botulism. * ''Untersuchungen über die lysinbildung'' (med Bång, in Hofmeisters Beiträge, 1906) - Studies on

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −C ...

production. * ''Om therapeutisk vaccinbehandling'', 1916 - On therapeutic vaccine treatment. * ''Pathogena bakteriers, infektioners och vissa epidemiers beroende av främmande bakterier'', 1918 - Bacterial pathogens, etc.WorldCat Search
(publications)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forssman, John 1868 births 1947 deaths People from Kalmar Lund University alumni Academic staff of Lund University Swedish bacteriologists Swedish pathologists