Léon Fredericq (24 August 1851 – 2 September 1935) was a Belgian physiologist. He conducted pioneering experiments on blood physiology, and discovered the copper-based

hemocyanin Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins and abbreviated Hc) are proteins that transport oxygen throughout the bodies of some invertebrate animals. These metalloproteins contain two copper atoms that reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O2) ...

of octopuses. He also examined gas-exchange, the working of the heart, and the transport of carbon dioxide and oxygen by blood. He served as a professor at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

from 1879.

Life and work

Fredericq was born in Ghent where his father César Fredericq was a physician and his mother Mathilde Huet headed a boarding school for girls. He was educated in Ghent before joining the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

in 1868 to study science. He received a doctorate in 1871 and became a preparator in physiology at the faculty of medicine. He received an MD in 1875 and went to France studying under

Louis-Antoine Ranvier Louis-Antoine Ranvier (2 October 1835 – 22 March 1922) was a French physician, pathologist, anatomist and histologist, who discovered the nodes of Ranvier, regularly spaced discontinuities of the myelin sheath, occurring at varying intervals alon ...

Georges Pouchet Charles Henri Georges Pouchet (26 February 1833 – 29 March 1894) was a French naturalist and anatomist. Life He was born in Rouen, the son of naturalist Félix Archimède Pouchet (1800–1872). In 1865 he became chief of anatomical work a ...

Wilhelm Waldeyer Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz (6 October 1836 – 23 January 1921) was a German anatomist, known for summarizing neuron theory and for naming the chromosome. He is also remembered by anatomical structures of the human body which ...

, Ernst Tiegel,

Felix Hoppe-Seyler Ernst Felix Immanuel Hoppe-Seyler (''né'' Felix Hoppe; 26 December 1825 – 10 August 1895) was a German physiologist and chemist, and the principal founder of the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology. Biography Hoppe-Seyler was b ...

and others. He also spent some time studying the nerve physiology of sea urchins at Roscoff under

Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers Félix Joseph Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers (15 May 1821 – 21 July 1901) was a French biologist, anatomist and zoologist born in Montpezat, Lot-et-Garonne, Montpezat in the department of Lot-et-Garonne. He was a leading authority in the field of mal ...

. He examined blood coagulation in 1876 and then studied blood-gas analysis techniques under

Paul Bert Paul Bert (17 October 1833 – 11 November 1886) was a French zoologist, physiologist and politician. He is sometimes given the sobriquet "Father of Aviation Medicine". Life Bert was born at Auxerre (Yonne). He studied law, earning a doctorate i ...

in Paris. He received a doctorate in physiology in 1878 for his work on blood coagulation and gases. He discovered hemocyanin in octopuses in 1878. In 1879 he studied nerve impulse transmission in lobsters and in the same year he succeeded

Theodor Schwann Theodor Schwann (; 7 December 181011 January 1882) was a German physician and physiologist. His most significant contribution to biology is considered to be the extension of cell theory to animals. Other contributions include the discovery of ...

as professor of physiology at the University of Liège. Fredericq conducted a number of studies, some tangential to his main field, driven by accidental discoveries. He tasted the blood of marine invertebrates and found them to be salty while bony fishes seemed to maintain a lower salt level which made him examine osmoregulation from 1901. He also examined thermoregulation and the relation to oxygen consumption. He introduced cross circulation experiments with blood from the artery of one dog feeding into the arterial system of another. The air supply to one dog could then be altered to examine the effects of lung gas exchange in the other dog. Another area of research was on the mechanism of the heart. Apart from work in physiology, he took an interest in art, travel, and natural history. He coined the term

autotomy Autotomy (from the Greek language, Greek ''auto-'', "self-" and ''tome'', "severing", wikt:αὐτοτομία, αὐτοτομία) or self-amputation, is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usual ...

in 1883 based on his observations of invertebrates. Fredericq married Bertha Spring, sister of the chemist Walthère Spring, in 1881. Their son Henri Fredericq (1887–1980) also became a physiologist who worked on nerve and muscle action. In 1931 he was created baron by King

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) *Albert I, Count of Namur () *Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg *Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Alber ...

References

External links

Biography with portrait (in French)
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fredericq, Léon 1851 births 1935 deaths Belgian physiologists