Torsten Ludvig Thunberg (30 June 1873 – 4 December 1952) was a Swedish physiologist and biochemist who worked on metabolic oxidation, including examinations of key steps in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, producing insights that were later elucidated by Hans A. Krebs. He was a professor of physiology at the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion thermal grill illusion The thermal grill illusion is a sensory illusion originally demonstrated in 1896 by the Swedish physician Torsten Thunberg. The illusion is created by an interlaced grill of bars which are warm, e.g. , and cool, e.g. . When someone presses a hand ...

was discovered by him. The so-called Thunberg tube for examining biological redox reactions was also named after him.

Life and work

Thunberg was born in Torsaker, Sweden to businessman Per Erik Thunberg and Wendela Maria Elisabeth Hård. He studied medicine at the University of Uppsala and received an MD with a thesis on epidermal sensory organs and perception. He worked at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry in 1893-94 under

Olof Hammarsten Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: *Per-Olov Ahrén (1926–2004), Swedish clergyman, bishop of Lund from 1980 to 1992 *Per-Olov Bra ...

and the next two years at the Institute of Physiology at Uppsala under Frithiof Homgren. His 1896 work noted what is now called the "thermal grill illusion", a perception of extreme heat and pain from placing closely interlaced warm (40 °C) and cold (20 °C) stimuli on the skin. He also noted that pinpricks produced two impulses of pain with differences in timing which were later shown to be due to different nerve fibre groups. He moved to the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Magnus Blix Magnus Gustaf Blix (25 December 1849 – 14 February 1904) was a Swedish physiologist born in the parish Säbrå, presently located in Härnösand Municipality. He is the grandfather of UN weapons inspector Hans Blix. During his career he was a ...

. Thunberg contributed to

Willibald Nagel Willibald Nagel (19 June 1870 – 13 November 1911) was a German physiologist, best known for his work in the field of sensory physiology. Born in Tübingen, Nagel earned doctorates in sciences (1892) and medicine (1893), obtaining his habilita ...

's ''Handbuch Der Physiologie Des Menschen''. Thunberg examined oxidative metabolism and began experiments with

Heinrich Wieland Heinrich Otto Wieland (; 4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a German chemist. He won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into the bile acids. Career In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studyin ...

. He developed a micro-respirometer to measure oxygen use and carbon dioxide production by tissues. In 1912 he examined dehyrogenase enzyme activity using methylene blue indicators and noted the role of succinate in a chain of compounds. The use of methylene blue indicator led to rapid advances in metabolic studies. In 1924 Thunberg designed a casing with air pressure pumps to assist polio victims breathe. His "barospirator" was modified by others and was used as

prior art Prior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria f ...

by John H. Emerson to invalidate the patent of

Philip Drinker Philip Drinker (December 12, 1894 – October 19, 1972) was an industrial hygienist. With Louis Agassiz Shaw, he invented the first widely used iron lung in 1928. Family and early life Drinker's father was railroad man and Lehigh University ...

for an iron lung. Thunberg was also involved in social activism in his student years at Uppsala, taking part in the Verdandi, along with Hjalmar Öhrvall. The Temperance Order Verdandi (Nykterhetsorden Verdandi) founded in 1896 were involved in socialist goals and supported temperance measures. He was elected to the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in 1928. He died following a fracture of his thigh in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunberg, Torsten 1873 births 1952 deaths Swedish biochemists Swedish physiologists