Wilhelm Friedrich Kühne (28 March 183710 June 1900) was a German

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 ...

. He coined the word enzyme in 1878.

Biography

Kühne was born at Hamburg on 28 March 1837. After attending the gymnasium in Lüneburg, he went to Göttingen, where his master in chemistry was

Friedrich Wöhler Friedrich Wöhler () FRS(For) HonFRSE (31 July 180023 September 1882) was a German chemist known for his work in inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements beryllium and yttrium in pure metallic form. He was the firs ...

and in physiology

Rudolph Wagner Rudolf Friedrich Johann Heinrich Wagner (30 July 1805 – 13 May 1864) was a German anatomist and physiologist and the co-discoverer of the germinal vesicle. He made important investigations on ganglia, nerve-endings, and the sympathetic nerves ...

. Having graduated in 1856, he studied under various famous physiologists, including Emil du Bois-Reymond at Berlin, Claude Bernard in Paris, and KFW Ludwig and EW von Brücke in Vienna. At the end of 1863 he was put in charge of the chemical department of the pathological laboratory at Berlin, under Rudolf Virchow; in 1868 he was appointed professor of physiology at Amsterdam; and in 1871 he was chosen to succeed Hermann von Helmholtz in the same capacity at Heidelberg, where he died on 10 June 1900.

Works

Kühne's original work falls into two main groups, the physiology of

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

, and

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

, which occupied the earlier years of his life. In 1864 Kühne extracted a viscous protein from

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

that he held responsible for keeping the tension state in muscle. He called this protein

myosin Myosins () are a superfamily of motor proteins best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are ATP-dependent and responsible for actin-based motility. The first myosin ...

. He began to investigate the chemistry of digestion while at Berlin with Virchow. In 1876, he discovered the protein-digesting enzyme trypsin. He was also known for his research on vision and the chemical changes occurring in the retina under the influence of light. Using the "

visual purple Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the RHO gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is the opsin of the rod cells in the retina and a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduction i ...

" (or

rhodopsin Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the RHO gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is the opsin of the rod cells in the retina and a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduction ...

), described by

Franz Christian Boll Franz Boll (26 February 1849, Neubrandenburg – 19 December 1879, Rome) was a German physiologist and histologist. He was the son of Lutheran theologian Franz Boll (1805–1875). Boll studied medicine in Bonn, Heidelberg and Berlin, and in 18 ...

in 1876, he attempted to make the basis of a photochemical theory of vision, but though he was able to establish its importance in connection with vision in light of low intensity, its absence from the retinal area of most distinct vision detracted from the completeness of the theory and precluded its general acceptance. Kühne also pioneered the process of

optography Optography is the process of viewing or retrieving an optogram, an image on the retina of the eye. A belief that the eye "recorded" the last image seen before death was widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was a frequent plot d ...

, the generation of an image from the retina of a rabbit by applying a chemical process to fix the state of the rhodopsin in the eye.Daintith, John (2010): ''Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Third Edition'' Later, Kühne attempted his technique on the eye of a convicted murderer from Bruchsal, Germany with inconclusive results.Dingman M. Know Your Brain: Telencephalon. Neuroscientifically Challenged. http://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/know-your-brain-telencephalon. Published 7 July 2017. Accessed 8 April 2019. He was elected member of 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 1898.

Students

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...

(1861–1896), martyr and national hero of the Philippines, learned physiology under Kühne at the Heidelberg University in 1886.

Ida Henrietta Hyde Ida Henrietta Hyde (September 8, 1857 – August 22, 1945) was an American physiologist known for developing a micro-electrode powerful enough to stimulate tissue chemically or electronically, yet small enough to inject or remove tissue from a ce ...

(1857–1945) wanted to study physiology under Kühne at the University of Heidelberg on the recommendation of Professor Alexander Goette at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. The university accepted her, but Willhelm Kühne refused to allow her in lectures and laboratories. He is reported to have said that he would never allow "skirts" in his classes. However, when a colleague asked him whether, if at the end of the course she could pass the examination, he would grant her the degree, he jokingly replied that he would. And so for six semesters, she had to study physiology independent of the classroom and of hands-on laboratory projects, using only his assistants' notes and lab sketches. Finally, a four-hour oral examination by Kühne's academic committee, proved her worthiness. The "

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

" degree, the highest honors, could not go to a woman, so Kühne invented a new phrase: "Multa Cum Laude Superavit" in English meaning "she overcame with much praise." Hyde completed the PhD at Heidelberg in 1896, the first woman to receive one for this type of work. Kühne recommended her for a position at the Heidelberg-supported research program at the Naples Marine Biological Laboratory in Naples Italy, where she studied the nature and function of salivary glands. She was a life member of this organization, and its secretary from 1897 to 1900.

Notes

References

* Attribution: *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhne, Wilhelm 1837 births 1900 deaths 19th-century German scientists Foreign Members of the Royal Society German physiologists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Physicians from Hamburg University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of Heidelberg University Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala