Oskar Minkowski (; 13 January 1858 – 18 July 1931) was a German physician and physiologist who held a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

ship at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and is most famous for his research on

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. He was the brother of the mathematician

Hermann Minkowski Hermann Minkowski (; ; 22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a German mathematician and professor at Königsberg, Zürich and Göttingen. He created and developed the geometry of numbers and used geometrical methods to solve problems in number t ...

and father of astrophysicist

Rudolph Minkowski Rudolph Minkowski (born Rudolf Leo Bernhard Minkowski ; ; May 28, 1895 – January 4, 1976) was a German-American astronomer. Biography Minkowski was the son of Marie Johanna Siegel and physiologist Oskar Minkowski. His uncle was Hermann Min ...

Life and career

Born in

Aleksotas The Aleksotas elderate ( lt, Aleksoto Seniunija) is an elderate in the southern section of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, bordering the left bank of the Nemunas River. Its population in 2006 was 21,694. The elderate borders Vilijampolė and Cen ...

, of Jewish origin,Minkowski biography
History.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk (1909-01-12). Retrieved on 2014-07-23. but later converted to Christianity. Minkowski was the son of Rachel (née Taubmann) and Lewin Boruch Minkowski (1825–1884), a first-guild merchant, who subsidized construction of the choral synagogue in Kovno.

Discovery of the role of pancreas in diabetes

Minkowski worked with Josef von Mering on the study of

at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

. Their landmark study in 1889 in dogs induced diabetes by removing their pancreas. It was Minkowski who performed the operation and made the crucial link to recognize that the symptoms of the treated dogs were due to diabetes. Thus they were able to indicate that the

pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...

contained regulators to control

blood sugar Glycaemia, also known as blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, or blood glucose level is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood of humans or other animals. Approximately 4 grams of glucose, a simple sugar, is present in the blo ...

; they also provided a model for the study of diabetes. Their work led other doctors and scientists to pursue further research on the relation of the pancreas to diabetes, and ultimately resulted in the discovery of insulin as a treatment for the disease. *Joseph von Mering, Oskar Minkowski: Diabetes mellitus nach Pankreasextirpation. Centralblatt für klinische Medicin, Leipzig, 1889, 10 (23): 393–394. Archiv für experimentelle Patholgie und Pharmakologie, Leipzig, 1890, 26: 37. It begins with,'' After removal of the pancreas dogs get diabetes. It starts sometime after the operation and will persist for weeks continuously until their death...'' Oskar Minkowski 2012 Lithuanian stamp

Minkowski Prize

In recognition of the discovery by Minkowski the

European Association for the Study of Diabetes The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) is a scientific association founded in Montecatini Terme, Italy in 1965 with Joseph Hoet as Founding President. The aims of the association are to encourage and support research in the fiel ...

annually awards the Minkowski Prize for outstanding original work of a younger investigator in diabetes research.Minkowski Prize
easd.org

References

External links

Biography

1858 births 1931 deaths University of Strasbourg alumni University of Greifswald faculty University of Strasbourg faculty German diabetologists Lithuanian Jews {{Germany-biologist-stub

Life and career

Discovery of the role of pancreas in diabetes

Minkowski Prize

See also

References

External links