Jan Evangelista PurkynÄ›
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Jan Evangelista Purkyně (; also written Johann Evangelist Purkinje) (17 or 18 December 1787 – 28 July 1869) was a Czech
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
and
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 ...
. In 1839, he coined the term " protoplasma" for the fluid substance of a cell. He was one of the best known scientists of his time. Such was his fame that when people from outside Europe wrote letters to him, all that they needed to put as the address was "PurkynÄ›, Europe".


Biography

PurkynÄ› was born in the
Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
(then part of the
Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ( composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it ...
, now
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
). After completing senior high school in 1804, PurkynÄ› joined the
Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...
order as a monk but subsequently left "to deal more freely with science." In 1818, PurkynÄ› graduated from
Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...
with a degree in medicine, where he was appointed a Professor of Physiology. He discovered the
Purkinje effect The Purkinje effect or Purkinje phenomenon (; sometimes called the Purkinje shift, often pronounced ) is the tendency for the peak luminance sensitivity of the eye to shift toward the blue end of the color spectrum at low illumination (lighting), ...
, the human eye's much reduced sensitivity to dim red light compared to dim blue light, and published in 1823 description of several entoptic phenomena. He published two volumes, ''Observations and Experiments Investigating the Physiology of Senses'' and ''New Subjective Reports about Vision'', which contributed to the emergence of the science of
experimental psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...
. He created the world's first Department of Physiology at the University of Breslau in
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
(now Wrocław, Poland) in 1839 and the world's second official physiology laboratory in 1842. Here he was a founder of the Literary-Slav Society. In 1850, he accepted the Physiology chair at Prague Medical Faculty, a position he held until his death. Purkyně is best known for his 1837 discovery of Purkinje cells, large
neurons A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
with many branching dendrites found in the
cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; Latin for 'little brain') is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as it or eve ...
. He is also known for his discovery in 1839 of Purkinje fibres, the fibrous tissue that conducts electrical impulses from the
atrioventricular node The atrioventricular node (AV node, or Aschoff-Tawara node) electrically connects the heart's atria and ventricles to coordinate beating in the top of the heart; it is part of the electrical conduction system of the heart. The AV node lies at the ...
to all parts of the ventricles of the heart. Other discoveries include Purkinje images, reflections of objects from structures of the eye, and the Purkinje shift, the change in the brightness of red and blue colours as light intensity decreases gradually at dusk. PurkynÄ› also introduced the scientific terms plasma (for the component of blood left when the suspended cells have been removed) and
protoplasm Protoplasm (; ) is the part of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, monosaccharides, amino acids, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. In some definitions ...
(the substance found inside cells.) PurkynÄ› was the first to use a
microtome A microtome (from the Greek ''mikros'', meaning "small", and ''temnein'', meaning "to cut") is a cutting tool used to produce extremely thin slices of material known as ''sections'', with the process being termed microsectioning. Important in sc ...
to make thin slices of tissue for microscopic examination and was among the first to use an improved version of the compound microscope. He described the effects of
camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...
,
opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
, belladonna and
turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...
on humans in 1829. He also experimented with
nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
that same year, when he "washed down three ground nutmegs with a glass of wine and experienced headaches, nausea, euphoria, and hallucinations that lasted several days", which remain a good description of today's average nutmeg binge. PurkynÄ› discovered
sweat glands Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, , are small tubular structures of the skin that produce sweat. Sweat glands are a type of exocrine gland, which are glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial sur ...
in 1833 and published a thesis that recognised 9 principal configuration groups of fingerprints in 1823. PurkynÄ› was also the first to describe and illustrate in 1838 the intracytoplasmic pigment neuromelanin in the
substantia nigra The substantia nigra (SN) is a basal ganglia structure located in the midbrain that plays an important role in reward and movement. ''Substantia nigra'' is Latin for "black substance", reflecting the fact that parts of the substantia nigra a ...
. He is also credited with the invention of the compressorium, a microscopy accessory to apply controlled pressure to specimens under observation. PurkynÄ› also recognised the importance of the work of
Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge ( ; 9 April 1830 â€“ 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture Movie projector, projection. He ...
. PurkynÄ› constructed his own version of a
stroboscope A stroboscope, also known as a strobe, is an instrument used to make a cyclically moving object appear to be slow-moving, or stationary. It consists of either a rotating disk with slots or holes or a lamp such as a flashtube which produces br ...
which he called ''forolyt''. He put nine photos of him shot from various sides to the disc and entertained his grandchildren by showing them how he, an old and famous professor, is turning around at great speed.


Family and death

In 1827, at the age of 40, he married Julia Agnes Rudolphi (1800–1835), daughter of his supporter, the Swedish-born German
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
Karl Asmund Rudolphi (1771–1832). They had two daughters and two sons. His wife and daughters died of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
in
Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
, leaving two sons. The older son (1831–1882) became a naturalist, while the younger son
Karel Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley (born 1962), American talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel (1921–2006), Dutch painter and sculptor Business * Karel Elec ...
(1834–1868) became a painter. He is buried in the Prague Vyšehrad National Cemetery in
VyÅ¡ehrad VyÅ¡ehrad (German: ''Wyschehrad,'' ''Prager Hochburg'', English: "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 1 ...
, Prague, in modern-day
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
.


Legacy

The
Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...
in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, Czech Republic, bore his name from 1960 to 1990, as did the standalone military medical academy in
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...
(1994–2004). Today a university in
Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...
bears his name: Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem.) The crater Purkyně on the Moon is named after him, as is the
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
3701 PurkynÄ›.


See also

* List of Czech scientists


References


External links


Jan Evangelista PurkynÄ› at Monoskop.org
* Biography

2008. Encyclopedia.com biographical entry written by Vladislav Kruta {{DEFAULTSORT:Purkyne, Jan Evangelista 1787 births 1869 deaths Biologists from the Austrian Empire People from Libochovice 19th-century writers in Latin Academic staff of Charles University Austrian anatomists Austrian physiologists 19th-century Austrian scientists Charles University alumni Czech anatomists Czech neuroscientists Czech physiologists 19th-century Czech scientists Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society History of neuroscience Academic staff of the University of Breslau Masaryk University Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery Scientists from Bohemia Czech people from the Austrian Empire