Maurice Bolks Visscher (August 25, 1901 – May 1, 1983) was an American cardiovascular physiologist. He is best known for demonstrating that

cardiac muscle Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle th ...

declines in efficiency as it fails, and for pioneering the use of

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numb ...

s to study electrolyte absorption in the small intestine.

Early life and education

Visscher was born on August 25, 1901, in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was the fourth of six children in a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

family. He attended Holland's

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricu ...

, graduating in 1922, then studied

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

where he earned a Ph.D. in 1925. He spent the next year doing research at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

with

Ernest Starling Ernest Henry Starling (17 April 1866 – 2 May 1927) was a British physiologist who contributed many fundamental ideas to this subject. These ideas were important parts of the British contribution to physiology, which at that time led the world ...

. In 1926, he conducted physiological research with

Anton Julius Carlson Anton Julius Carlson (January 29, 1875 – September 2, 1956) was a Swedish American physiologist. Carlson was chairman of the Physiology Department at the University of Chicago from 1916 until 1940. Biography Carlson was born the son of Carl J ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. He earned his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in 1931.

Academic career

Visscher was an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

from 1927 to 1929. He joined the faculty of

, where he was associate professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology from 1929 to 1931. He then served as the chairman of the physiology department at the

University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and formerly Urbana–Champaign. The Urbana–Champaign site stopped accepting ne ...

until 1936, when he became the head of the physiology department at the

, a position he held until his retirement. Upon retiring in 1968, he became a Regents' Professor at the University of Minnesota, and was granted the status of emeritus professor in 1970. He then moved to another laboratory, where he continued to conduct research until his death. His doctoral students at the University of Minnesota included Gordon Moe and Earl Wood.

Professional affiliations

Visscher was the 20th president of the

American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other health professions. Its mission is to support research an ...

, serving from 1948 to 1949. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1956, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1964, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1970. He also served as a co-founder and president of the National Society for Medical Research, as secretary general of the

International Union of Physiological Sciences The International Union of Physiological Sciences, abbreviated IUPS, is the global umbrella organization for physiology. IUPS aims to facilitate initiatives that strengthen the discipline of physiology. IUPS is a scientific union member of the I ...

, and as founding chairman of the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.

Activism

An outspoken

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, Visscher contributed a regular column to ''

The Humanist ''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethical ...

'' from 1942 to 1954 and signed the

Humanist Manifesto II ''Humanist Manifesto II'', written in 1973 by humanists Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, was an update to the previous ''Humanist Manifesto'' published in 1933, and the second entry in the ''Humanist Manifesto'' series. It begins with a statem ...

in 1973. He served as chairman of the organization Minnesotans against the War in Vietnam, which placed an anti-Vietnam War advertisement in the ''

Minneapolis Star-Tribune Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

'' in 1967. He was also an avid defender of

academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...

and opponent of McCarthyism. As a board member of the

Unitarian Service Committee The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a non-profit, nonsectarian associate member organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association that works to provide disaster relief and promote human rights and social justice around the w ...

(USC) during World War II, he organized and headed the "Nutrition Mission", a collaborative mission between the USC and the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

. The mission, launched in 1945, was aimed at researching

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...

in Italy. He was a volunteer medical advisor to

Group Health Group Health Cooperative, (formerly known as Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound), later more commonly known as Group Health, was a Seattle, Washington based nonprofit healthcare organization. Business model Established in , Group Health prov ...

in the 1950s.

Personal life

Visscher married Gertrude Pieters on August 12, 1925. They had two sons and two daughters. Though raised a Calvinist, Visscher converted to

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...

in 1934, when he became a member of the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago. Nevertheless, he later credited the rigid doctrines of Calvinism with instilling a lifelong sense of urgency in him. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on May 1, 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visscher, Maurice Bolks American physiologists American Unitarians 1901 births 1983 deaths People from Holland, Michigan Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Converts to Unitarianism Hope College alumni University of Minnesota alumni University of Tennessee faculty University of Southern California faculty University of Illinois faculty University of Minnesota faculty American humanists Deaths from cancer in the United States University of Southern California alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society