Nicolas Maurice Arthus (, 9 January 1862 – 24 February 1945) was a French
immunologist and
physiologist
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 a ...
. The
Arthus reaction
In immunology, the Arthus reaction () is a type of local type III hypersensitivity reaction. Type III hypersensitivity reactions are immune complex-mediated, and involve the deposition of antigen/antibody complexes mainly in the vascular walls, s ...
, a localized
inflammatory response, is named after him.
Arthus was born on 9 January 1862 in
Angers,
France.
He studied medicine in
Paris and received his
doctorate in 1886. In 1896 he became Professor of
Physiology at the
University of Fribourg,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He returned to France to work at the
Pasteur Institute in 1900, and later taught at the ''Ecole de Médecine de
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
'' (currently integrated in the
University of the Mediterranean). In 1907, he was appointed to the Chair of Physiology at the
University of Lausanne in Switzerland, where he remained for twenty-five years.
He died in
Fribourg on 24 February 1945.
Apart from the reaction named after him, Arthus is best known for his work on
anaphylaxis. He also studied
snake venom
Snake venom is a highly toxic saliva containing zootoxins that facilitates in the immobilization and digestion of prey. This also provides defense against threats. Snake venom is injected by unique fangs during a bite, whereas some species are a ...
and the role of
calcium in the
coagulation of blood.
Selected bibliography
Bibliography:
* Nouvelle théorie chimique de la coagulation du sang. With Calixte Pages. Archives de physiologie normale et pathologique, Paris, 1890, 5th ser., 2: 739-746. First demonstration of the essential role of calcium in the mechanism of blood coagulation.
* Coagulation des liquides de l'organisme (sang, lymphe, transsudats). Paris 1894.
* Précis de chimie physiologique. Paris 1895; 10th edition, 1924,
* Nature des enzymes. Paris 1896.
* Précis de physiologie. Paris 1901; 7th edition, 1927.
* Injections répétées de serum du cheval zhez le lapin. Comptes rendus des séances de la Société de biologie, Paris, 1903; 55: 817-820.
* La physiologie. Paris 1920.
* De l'anaphylaxie à l'immunité; anaphylaxie, protéotoxies, evenimations, anaphylaxie-immunité, sérums antivenimeux. Paris, Masson, 1921. 363 pages. Paris 1921.
* Philosophy of scientific investigation; preface to De l'anaphylaxie à l'immunité, Paris, 1921. Translated from the French with an introduction by Henry E. Sigerist. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1943, 26 pages. Also in: Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Baltimore, 1943; 3. v.14.
* P. Nolf, N. M. Arthus, ''et al.'': Hommage à Léon Fredericq, professeur de physiologie à l’Université de Liége. Liége, 1938. 79 pages.
* (with Calixte Pagès) Nouvelle théorie chimique de la coagulation du sang, ''Archives de physiologie normale et pathologique'', Paris, 5th ser., 2 (1890), 739–746.
* ''Éléments de chimie physiologique'', Paris: G. Masson, 1895.
* ''Eléments de physiologie'', Paris: Masson, 1902.
* Injections répétées de serum du cheval chez le lapin, ''Comptes rendus des séances de la Société de biologie et ses filiales'', Paris, 55 (1903), 817–820.
* ''Précis de physiologie microbienne'', Paris: Masson, 1921.
References
* Introduction to "Maurice Arthus' Philosophy of Scientific Investigation", Henry E. Sigerist, ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'', 14 (1943), 368–372.
* Nicolas Maurice Arthus, in ''World Who's Who in Science'',
Allen G. Debus et al., ed., Chicago: Marquis-Who's Who, Inc., 1968.
Nicolas Maurice Arthusat whonamedit.com.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthus, Nicolas Maurice
1862 births
1945 deaths
French immunologists
French physiologists