Karl Binz (1 July 1832 – 11 January 1913) was a German physician and

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 biochemica ...

born in

Bernkastel Bernkastel-Kues () is a town on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a well-known winegrowing centre. The town is a state-recognized health resort (''Erholungsort''), seat of the ''Ver ...

. He is known for his investigations on the pharmacological properties and effects of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...

. He studied at the Universities of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, later working 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 o ...

in the

pathological 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 ...

institute of

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (; or ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder ...

(1821–1902) and at the clinic of

Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs (24 March 1819 – 14 March 1885) was a German pathologist born in Aurich. After earning his medical degree from the University of Göttingen in 1841, he returned to Aurich, where he spent several years working a ...

(1819–1885). In 1868 he became an associate professor at Bonn, and several years later founded its pharmacological institute (1873). In 1885/86 he was university

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. During the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

(1866) and Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) he served as a staff physician. In 1867 he discovered that quinine was highly toxic to micro-organisms in impure water, and demonstrated that quinine hydrochlorate with neutral or slightly basic reaction was an effective poison for the

protoplasm Protoplasm (; ) is the living part of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, monosaccharides, amino acid, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. In some defini ...

s of decomposing plants and impeded many fermenting and putrid processes. In addition to his research of quinine, he performed extensive pharmacological tests on

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

halogens The halogens () are a group in the periodic table consisting of five or six chemically related elements: fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), astatine (At), and tennessine (Ts). In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, this group is ...

and associated compounds, sleep-inducing substances, et al. The eponymous "Binz' test" is a qualitative test for the presence of quinine in

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra. Cel ...

Selected writings

* ''Ueber die Wirkung antiseptischer Stoffe auf Infusorien von Pflanzenjauche'', (Centralblatt der med. Wissenschaften, V/20), 1867 – On the effect of antiseptic substances on

infusoria Infusoria are minute freshwater life forms including ciliates, euglenoids, protozoa, unicellular algae and small invertebrates. Some authors (e.g., Bütschli) used the term as a synonym for Ciliophora. In modern formal classifications, the term i ...

of plant pests. * ''Experimentelle Beobachtungen über das Wesen der Chininwirkung'', 1868 – Experimental observations on the nature of quinine. * ''Weitere Studien über Chinin. (Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, November 1871)'', 1871 – Further studies about quinine. * ''Das Chinin nach den neueren pharmakologischen Arbeiten'', 1876 – Quinine according to recent pharmacological work. * ''Ueber den Traum'' (1878). * ''La quinine prophylactique de la fièvre de la malaria'' (1890, by Binz and other scientists) – Quinine for treatment of the fever of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. * ''Vorlesungen über Pharmakologie'', 1891 – Lessons on pharmacology. * ''Rezeptsünden und ihre Folgen'' (1899). Binz was also the author of a number of works in the field of "

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. More than just histo ...

", such as: * ''Doktor Johann Weyer, ein rheinischer Arzt, der erste Bekämpfer des Hexenwahns'', (1885, second edition 1896) – Doctor

Johann Weyer Johann Weyer or Johannes Wier ( la, Ioannes Wierus or '; 1515 – 24 February 1588) was a Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist, disciple and follower of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. He was among the first to publish against t ...

, a Rhenish physician, first fighter of the

witch craze A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

. * ''Augustin Lercheimer (Professor H. Witekind in Heidelberg) und seine Schrift wider den Hexenwahn'', 1888 – Augustin Lercheimer (Professor H. Witekind in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

) and his publications against the witch craze. * ''Die Einschleppung der Syphilis in Europa'', 1893 – The introduction of

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

in Europe. * ''Aether gegen den Schmerz'', 1896 –

Ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...

against the pain.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Binz, Karl Academic staff of the University of Bonn 1832 births 1913 deaths German pharmacologists People from Bernkastel-Wittlich People from the Rhine Province