Austin Flint II (March 28, 1836 – September 21, 1915) was an American physician. He carried out extensive experimental investigations in human physiology and made several important discoveries. He assisted in establishing the glycogenic function of the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

; showed that one of the functions of the liver is to separate from the blood the cholesterin, which is a product of the nervous system. This becomes a constituent of the

bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...

, and is afterward converted into what he named "stercorin" (better known as coprosterol), the odorous principle of

feces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

Early life

He was born on March 28, 1836, in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

, to Austin Flint I (1812–1886), who helped found Bellevue Hospital, and Anne Balch Skillings (1814–1894). His younger sister was Susan Willard Flint (1838–1869), who married Brevet Major C. Grover. His aunts included Mrs. Susan Willard Jewett and Mrs. Elizabeth Henshaw Thiverick. He attended medical lectures at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

from 1854 to 1856 and one year at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

before graduating from Jefferson Medical College,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1857. Flint was one of six generations of physicians spanning from 1733 to 1955.

Career

From 1857 to 1859, he was editor of the '' Buffalo Medical Journal'', surgeon of Buffalo City Hospital, and

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

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and microscopical anatomy in the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

. In 1859, he removed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his father and was appointed professor of physiology in New York Medical College. He was professor of physiology in the New Orleans Medical College in 1860 and studied in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 1860 and 1861. He was professor of physiology and microscopic anatomy in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, from 1861 till that institution was consolidated with the medical department of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1898, when he was appointed professor of physiology in Cornell University Medical College. He was, in 1874, Surgeon General of New York. He was a member of the executive committee of the New York Prison Association in 1890. He was decorated with the order of Bolivar (third class) of Venezuela in 1891. Flint was president of the New York State Medical Association in 1895; president of the Medical Association of the Greater City of New York in 1899. He was a member of the following scientific organizations: The

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

; the New York County Medical Association; the American Academy of Medicine (honorary) ; Association of Military Surgeons of the United States;

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

; the Academy of Science, and the American Medico-Psychological Association, of which he became a member in 1899. He was also a member of the Century Association of New York.

Personal life

Flint was married at Ballston, New York, on December 23, 1862, to Elizabeth B. McMaster. They had four children, one of whom, also named Austin Flint III, was the fifth in direct line of physicians in the Flint family. He died on September 21, 1915, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

Publications

His principal works are:
''Experimental Researches into a New Excretory Function of the Liver'' (1862)
*''The Physiology of Man'' (fourth edition, 1888) *''Chemical Examinations of Urine in Diseases'' (six editions, 1870–1884) *''Effects of Severe and Protracted Muscular Exercises'' (1871) *''Source of Muscular Power'' (1878) *''Text-Book of Human Physiology'' (1875) *''Experiments Regarding a New Function of the Liver, Separating the Cholesterin of the Blood and Eliminating it as Stercorin'' (1862) *''The Physiology of the Nervous System'' (1872) *''Mechanism of Reflex Nervous Action in Normal Respiration'' (1874) *''The Treatment of

Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

'' (1884) *''Chemical Examination of the

Urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

in Disease'' (1893) *''Stercorin and Cholesterœmia'' (1897) *''Handbook of Physiology'' (1905)

Terms

*Flint's arcade — an arteriovenous arch at the base of the renal pyramids. ::'' Dorland's Medical Dictionary'' (1938)

References

Notes Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flint, Austin American hepatologists New York University faculty New York Medical College faculty Thomas Jefferson University alumni University of Louisville alumni University at Buffalo faculty Tulane University faculty American science writers People from Northampton, Massachusetts Physicians from New York City American physiologists 1836 births 1915 deaths Scientists from New York (state)