Eduardo Braun-Menéndez (January 16, 1903 – January 16, 1959) was a noted

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

Life and work

Born in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, he was a naturalized Argentine citizen from a very early age, and was raised in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

.Homenaje: Dr. Eduardo Braún Menéndez (1903-1959)
He studied at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

, choosing cardiovascular medicine and

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 ...

as his specialties. His doctoral thesis dealt with the relationship between the

pituitary The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus control much of th ...

gland and

diencephalon In the human brain, the diencephalon (or interbrain) is a division of the forebrain (embryonic ''prosencephalon''). It is situated between the telencephalon and the midbrain (embryonic ''mesencephalon''). The diencephalon has also been known as t ...

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of Circulatory system, circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term ...

, and was developed at the Institute of Physiology under the supervision of Noble laureate Dr. Bernardo Houssay, in 1934. After receiving his doctoral degree, he went to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to study at the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he investigated the

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

of the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

. On his return from England, he joined the prestigious team at the Institute of Physiology, with Luis Federico Leloir, Juan Fasciolo, Juan Muñoz, and Alberto Taquini to work for a few years on the mechanism of nephrogenic

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

. He made the most important discovery in his career during this research, that of

angiotensin Angiotensin is a peptide hormone that causes vasoconstriction and an increase in blood pressure. It is part of the renin–angiotensin system, which regulates blood pressure. Angiotensin also stimulates the release of aldosterone from the adr ...

, in 1939.
''Hypertension'' (vol. 32, 1998). In Memoriam: Professor Alberto C. Taquini. At the Institute, Braun-Menéndez became a research leader in cardiovascular physiology in 1945, and served as a senior lecturer and teaching assistant in the same area until 1946. He directed the Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Institute of Experimental Biology and Medicine until 1946 and was also the head of

electrocardiography Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of t ...

and

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

at the Municipal Institute of Radiology and Physiotherapy of Buenos Aires. He returned as Houssay Chair at the Institute of Physiology in 1955, and served as a professor. Additionally, he was a member of the Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine and was honored with the title of ''

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' by the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and the University of Brazil. In addition, he was vice president of the Argentine Society of Biology and secretary of the Argentine Association for the Advancement of Sciences. He received the National Award for Science twice. Braun-Menéndez also helped to create the important scientific journal ''Ciencia y Investigación'' which published its first issue in 1945. It was directed by him until 1959, the year that he died. Another of his initiatives included the ''Acta Physiologica Latinoamericana'', a publication written in multiple languages for the publication of the work of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n physiologists. Dr. Braun-Menéndez died in a plane crash at sea off

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

with his daughter on January 16, 1959. The doomed flight was Austral Air Lines' first-ever journey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun-Menendez, Eduardo 1903 births 1959 deaths People from Punta Arenas Argentine people of Latvian-Jewish descent Argentine people of Spanish descent Chilean emigrants to Argentina Naturalized citizens of Argentina University of Buenos Aires alumni Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires Argentine physiologists Argentine scientists Argentine cardiologists Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Argentina Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1959