Moss showed that the blood of all individuals could be placed into one of four groups. His classification has been the one most commonly used until recently. The work was similar to that of Janský and completed before the writer learned of the latter’s publication.

Price-Jones described a method for the direct measurement of red blood cells, which led to the term, “Price-Jones curve”. See also his book, Red blood cell diameters, London, 1933.

Keith, Rowntree, and Geraghty devised a method for determination of plasma and blood volume, which includes the injection of a dye.

McLean extracted from dog liver a substance which retarded blood coagulation in vitro and which, after further work by Howell and Holt (No.905), was named heparin.

Isolation of heparin.

Hayem first named the hematoblasts in 1877 (Mém. Soc. Biol. (Paris), 1877, 29, 97). His view, reiterated in 1923, was that they were the early stages of red blood cells and regenerated the blood.

Bernstein, a mathematician, determined the correct blood group inheritance pattern of multiple alleles at one locus through statistical analysis.

Maximow’s blood regeneration theory.

Discovery of M and N agglutinogens. See also the same journal, pp. 941-42.

Lysolechtin found in normal blood.

Boyd showed that blood groups are inherited and not changed by environment.

Discovery of the Rh antigen.

Recognition of the Rh antigen

Moureau discovered the Rh factor independently of Levine and others whose work was not known to him owing to the military occupation of Belgium. See also his paper in Amer. J. clin. Path., 1946, 16, 373-79.

Cohn invented fractionation of plasma proteins, also called blood fractionation. (Order of authorship in the original publication: Cohn, Oncley, Strong, Hughes, Armstrong.) Digital facsimile from PubMedCentral at this link.

Discovery of the Factor V. Preliminary account in Proc. Norwegian Acad. Sci., 1941, 17, 21.

S blood-group antigen.

Boyle showed the effects of the elasticity, compressibility, and weight of air. He investigated the function of air in respiration, combustion, and conveyance of sound. Most significantly Boyle demonstrated that air is essential for life.

Discovery of the capillary circulation. Malpighi demonstrated that the pulmonary tissues are vesicular in nature and showed that the trachea ends in bronchial filaments. His De pulmonibus includes his demonstration of the capillary anastomosis between arteries and veins. This book, which is very rare, consists of two letters to Borelli describing observations made through the microscope on the lung of a living frog. In the second letter Malpighi described small channels connecting arteries with veins, the capillaries. This was the first proof that blood circulation occurred within a closed hydraulic system. The second edition was published as an appendix to Thomas Bartholin’s De pulmonum substantia et motu diatribe, 1663. It is republished in his Opera omnia, Lugduni Batavorum, 1687, ii, 331. A facsimile was published in Milan in 1958; English translation by J. Young in Proc. roy. Soc. Med., 1929-30, Sect. Hist. Med., 23, 1-11. See No. 915

By blowing air from a bellows over the exposed lungs of a dog, Hooke proved that respiratory motion is not necessary to maintain life, but that the essential feature of respiration lies in certain blood changes in the lungs. Reprinted in J. F. Fulton’s Selected readings in the history of physiology, 2nded., 1966, pp. 121-23.

First investigation of the action of the intercostal muscles in respiration.

"Recent data on intercostal muscle function, largely electromyographic, tend to confirm the ideas of Hamberger, who, in 1748 (recte 1727), proposed a theory of intercostals muscle action upon the rib cage. Hamberger's scheme was based upon a consideration of the ribs as levers and the vertebral column and sternum as fulcra, and of the directions in which the internal and external intercostal muscle fibers ran. He proposed that the external intercostals were inspiratory and that the internal intercostals were expiratory, except in the parasternal regions where the internal intercostals (there are no other intercostal muscles) are inspiratory. Careful selective electromyographic studies in both animals and man (using small bipolar needle electrodes) by Draper et al, Taylor et al, and Sears et al have amply confirmed Hamberger's ideas" (John T. Sharp., et al., "Respiratory Muscle Function and the Use of Respiratory Muscle Electromyography in the Evaluation of Respiratory Regulation", Chest, 70 [1976], 150).

Digital facsimile of second edition, Jena, 1737, from Google Books at this link.

(Prior editions of this bibliography incorrectly cited the third edition of 1748 for this discovery.)

Isolation of carbon dioxide. English translation, Minneapolis, 1973.

The isolation of oxygen was first achieved by Priestley. He also demonstrated that plants immersed in water give off oxygen and that this gas is essential for animal life.

Discovery of nitrogen.

Although Priestley isolated oxygen, it was Lavoisier who discovered its real significance. He showed the true nature of the interchange of gases in the lungs and exploded Stahl’s phlogiston theory. Lavoisier was guillotined during the French Revolution.

Cavendish isolated hydrogen in 1766, and later demonstrated the composition of air.

Hassenfratz, a pupil of Lagrange, maintained that the oxidation of carbon and hydrogen took place in the blood, and not in the lungs as taught by others.

In 1804 the Berlin Akademie der Naturwissenschaften offered a prize for the best essay on the structure and function of the lungs. The prize was won by Reisseisen, while Soemmerring received honorable mention. The texts of both works were published in one volume; Soemmerring’s essay was entitled “Ueber die Structur, die Verrichtung und den Gebrauch der Lungen”. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Le Gallois described the action of the vagus nerve on respiration. He showed that bilateral section of the vagus can produce fatal bronchopneumonia. The above work includes (p. 37) his location of the respiratory center in the medulla , and not in the spinal cord, as had been previously believed. “For the first time, an area of brain substance within a major subdivision of the brain and having a specific function had been defined accurately by experiment” (Clarke & Jacyna).

Le Gallois is also remembered for his reviving, after Borelli, the neurogenic theory of the heart’s action; namely that the motor power of the heart comes from the spinal cord via branches of the sympathetic nerves. Le Gallois also developed a primitive isolated heart-lung preparation in rabbits and was the first to suggest the possibility of a heart-lung machine: “If the place of the heart could be supplied by injection, and if, for the regular continuance of this injection, there could be furnished a quantity of arterial blood, whether natural or artifcially formed . . . then life might be indefnitely maintained” (quoted in Fye, “Julien Jean César Legallois,” Clinical Cardiology 18 (1995): 599-600. . Digital facsimile of the 1812 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. English translation by N. C. and J. G. Nancrede (Philadelphia, 1813) as Experiments on the principle of life, and particularly on the principle of the motions of the heart, and on the seat of this principle: including the report made to the first class of the Institute, upon the experiments relative to the motions of the heart. Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive at this link.

First quantitative analysis of the blood gases. Magnus proved that the arterial blood contains a higher concentration of oxygen than venous blood and that the latter had a higher carbon dioxide content.

Invention of the spirometer, making possible the determination of the vital capacity of the lungs. Hutchinson used the spirometer while evaluating candidates for life insurance as a physician for Brittania Life.  Particularly, he researched the safety of coal mining and the presence of charcoal in miner's lungs. He also theorized that air pollution could lead to poor health. Hutchinson’s work first appeared in summary form in Lancet, 1844, 1, 390-391, 567-70.

Study of the effect of section of the vagus on respiration. See also No. 933.

First determination of the respiratory quotient.

See No. 931.

Meyer showed that the oxygen in the blood was not held in simple solution but came off in quantity only when the air pressure was reduced to one fiftieth of an atmosphere.

Investigation of the blood gases.

Smith invented a respirometer to study changes in respiratory function under various conditions. See also the following paper (pp. 715-42) on the effects of foods on respiration. For an account of his work in this and other fields, see C. B. Chapman, J. Hist. Med., 1967, 22, 1-26.

Jourdanet discovered the anoxemia theory of high altitude sickness. See No. 943.1. Digital facsimile of the 1861 edition from bibliotecavirtual.ranm.es at this link.

Schultze’s classic paper on the nerves to the neuro-epithelium in the special sense organs marks an epoch in histology. He described the cells of the olfactory muccous membrane, “Schultze’s cells”.

The first combined feeding–respiration experiments. Pettenkofer and Voit devised an apparatus for their important experiments on respiration and metabolism. They were first to estimate the amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrate broken down in the body.

Pflüger showed that respiratory changes take place in the tissues.

Pflüger investigated the cause of the initiation of respiration in newborn animals. English translation in No. 1588.16.

“Hering-Breuer reflex”; see also the previous entry. English translation of both papers in R. Porter (ed.), Hering–Breuer Centenary Symposium, London, Churchill, 1970. Digital facsimile of the 1868 edition from the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek at this link.

Jourdanet’s observational work in remote areas of Latin America and Asia produced important evidence for Bert’s proof that altitude sickness is due to anoxemia. In La pression barométrique (No. 944) Bert described how Jourdanet made it possible for him to do his laboratory work on altitude physiology, and how the two agreed to each take half the field: Bert, the laboratory work; and Jourdanet, the observational. Bert also credits Jourdanet with the theory of anoxemia. Extensively illustrated. Second edition, 2 vols., 1876. See No. 935.2. Digital facsimile of the 1875 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

The most famous work in the history of altitude physiology, in which Bert proved that the principal symptoms of altitude sickness arise from reduced partial pressure of oxygen and not from diminution of total pressure. Bert introduced oxygen apparatus to avert the dangerous consequences of ascent to high altitudes, and was the first to study the conditions of high-altitude ascents in a pressure chamber. He also explained the etiology and mechanism of caisson disease. English translation, 1943. See No. 12192.

The important work of Martin and Hartwell on the intercostal muscles settled the controversy regarding their function.

Demonstration of the action of the vagus in respiration.

Hüfner showed that 1 gm. hemoglobin combines with 1.34 cc oxygen.

Mosso made important investigations on respiration at high altitudes. He considered that the respiratory symptoms produced at high altitudes were due to lack of carbon dioxide. English translation, London, 1898.

Potassium ferricyanide method for the determination of oxygen in oxyhemoglobin.

The Haldane apparatus for the analysis of the repiratory gases, which proved a method that could measure oxygen and carbon dioxide to 0.005%. It was the cornerstone of all respiratory gas analysis until P.F. Scholander’s apparatus (No. 971.1).

Fredericq “established that chemical changes in the blood acting somewhere in the head were the major factor in the regulation of breathing” (Kellogg). English translation in No. 1588.16.

First studies of the physiology of apnea in man.

Tissot spirometer.

Proof of the regulation of respiration by CO₂ concentration of the alveolar air

Douglas bag.

Peters made accurate determinations of the ratio of iron to oxygen in the blood.

CO₂ dissociation curves. These workers discovered that hemoglobin indirectly greatly assists the transport of CO₂ by the blood.

In 1922 Meyerhof was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Pysiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the fixed relationship between the consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle." The other half of the prize was awarded to Archibald Vivian Hill "for his discovery relating to the production of heat in the muscle."

An account of the work of the Oxford School of Physiology, in particular the Pike’s Peak expedition (No. 957). Second edition, 1935, with J. G. Priestley.

Lumsden introduced the concept of subsidiary respiratory centers in the brain stem.

Method for the manometric analysis of gases in blood and other solutions.

Barcroft’s studies of the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood are recorded in the above monograph. He particularly concentrated on elucidation of the oxygen dissociation curve. The second edition, 2 vols., Cambridge, 1925-28, was greatly revised and enlarged.

Carbamino reaction.

In 1938 Heymans was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of the role played by the sinus and aortic mechanisms in the regulation of respiration."

Keilin discovered cytochrome and laid the foundations of the modern concept of cellular respiration. See No. 1588.3.

Warburg discovered the nature and function of the respiratory ferment.

In 1931 Warburg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme."

Isolation of carbonic anhydrase.

An improvement on the classic Haldane method for analyzing oxygen and carbon dioxide in respiratory gases. It provides comparable accuracy over a wider range of gas concentrations with a gas sample of only 0.5 ml instead of 25 ml.

First accurate description of the capsule of the liver (Glisson’s capsule) and its blood-supply. He also described the sphincter of the bile duct (“Glisson’s sphincter”, the sphincter of Oddi). This is the first book printed in England which gives a detailed account of a single organ based on original research. See No. 1098.1.

Includes the first account of the excretory duct of the parotid gland (“Stensen’s duct”), discovered by Stensen. He first reported his discovery in a letter to his teacher, Thomas Bartholin, dated April, 22, 1661. Stensen was also the first mention the ceruminous glands in this work. Facsimile reproduction, with English translation, Copenhagen, 1951.

De Graaf was an early investigator of the pancreatic secretion. He collected the pancreatic juice of dogs by means of artificial pancreatic fistulae, commenting on the small quantity of juice secreted and on its alkaline character. The French edition, Paris, 1666, contained a revised and enlarged text. Partial translation in J. F. Fulton, Selected readings in the history of physiology, 2nd ed., 1966, pp. 167-68. Full English translation from 2nd ed. (1671), London, 1676.

This is primarily a work on the poisonous water hemlock, its dangerous effects, its medicinal uses, and antidotes to counter the poison. However, it also contains the first description of the tiny glands in the mucosa of the duodenum, now called Brunner’s glands. Brunner was the author’s father-in-law; however, Wepfer first described them in this work. "They are described in the summary of an experiment on a dog, on pages 206 and 207. Parts of the book contains letters or extracts of letters between Wepfer and other toxicologists of that era. Four engraved plates illustrate one species of the hemlock family, the roots and lower stalk, the branching stalks, the leaves and the flowers and seeds. ... Wepfer systematically studied poisons, with particular attention to the toxic water hemlocks. He was the first to analyze the pharmacological effects of coniine, an alkaloid of hemlock that was not isolated until much later; and his classic description of hemlock poisoning was often cited as the standard" (Heirs of Hippocrates 535.5). Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

“Bartholin’s duct” and “gland”, the sublingual salivary gland and ducts.

“Brunner’s glands”, earlier described by Wepfer (No. 974.1).

Following Vater’s classic description of the ampulla of the bile duct, it was named the “ampulla of Vater”.

“Poupart’s ligament”, the inguinal ligament.

“Lieberkühn’s glands” or “crypts” described. They were discovered by Malpighi in 1688.

Using a pet buzzard, de Réaumur succeeded in isolating the gastric juice and demonstrating its solvent effect on foods.

First isolation of human gastric juice. Stevens was also the first successfully to perform an in vitro digestion, proving the presence in the gastric juice of the active principle necessary for the assimilation of food. An English translation is included in Spallanzani’s Dissertations relative to the natural history of animals, 1784, vol. 1, pp. 303-16. Digital facsimile of the 1777 edition from Google Books at this liink.  See also Edward Stevens: Gastric physiologist, phyhsician and American statesman. With a complete translation of his inaugural dissertation De alimentorum concoctione...Edited by Stacey B. Day. Montreal, 1969.

From the Wikipedia article on Edward Stevens, accessed 01-2017:

"Stevens was born in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. Stevens's father, the merchant Thomas Stevens,^[1] would also become the adoptive father of an orphaned Alexander Hamilton.^[2] According to Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton,^[3]people would often say that Edward Stevens and Hamilton looked like brothers. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, who knew both men in adulthood, noted that the men were strikingly similar in appearance and concluded that they must be brothers. Ron Chernow says many aspects of Hamilton's biography make more sense given Stevens's paternity. It would explain why Hamilton was adopted into the Stevens family while his brother, James, was not. It may have also been a factor in Hamilton's supposed father abandoning his family.^[4]"

In the first patrt of this work, Della digestione dissertazione prima Spallanzani confirmed earlier doctrines of the solvent property of the gastric juice and discovered the action of the saliva in digestion. He stated that gastric juice can act outside the body and can prevent or inhibit putrefaction. He obtained gastric juice by tying a sponge on a piece of string, then allowing it to be swallowed. The second part contains Spallanzani's experimental researches on reproduction in animals and plants in which he demonstrated the role of seminal fluid in generation. The second part also includes his investigations into artifical fertilization, in which he recorded the first case of artificial insemination in a viviparous animal.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link. English translation, as Dissertations relative to the natural history of animals and vegetables (1784). Digital facsimile of the 1784 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Young, one of the first American experimental physiologists, showed the solvent principle in the gastric juice to be an acid, but wrongly inferred that it was phosphoric acid. He also deduced the association and synchrony between gastric juice and saliva. Reprinted, Urbana, Ill., 1959.

Includes description of “Hesselbach’s hernia” and “triangle”. He wrote a further volume on the subject in 1814.

“Meckel’s diverticulum”.

Physiologists still consult Magendie’s classic description of the physiology of deglutition and vomiting. Magendie proved, against the current theory of Haller, that the stomach was passive rather than active in vomiting. This was essentially correct; however Magendie did fail to observe the active role of the plyloric end of the stomach. English translation in Ann. Phil., London, 1813, 1, 429-38.

Magendie showed that the epiglottis is not necessary for swallowing, which disproved the accepted doctrine that the epiglottis was necessary to cover the glottis to prevent food from entering the trachea.

Before turning to surgery, Brodie did important work in physiology. Above is his study of the influence of the pneumogastric nerve on gastric secretion.

Proof that the gastric juice contains free hydrochloric acid.

Beaumont’s first report on Alexis St. Martin was accidentally published under the name of Joseph Lovell, Surgeon-General of the U.S. Army. See No. 989.

In this and No. 987.1 Beaumont first described his revolutionary experiments on Alexis St. Martin. He continued these researches and published his monograph in 1833. See No. 989.

Confirmation of the work of Prout.

Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian half-breed who had sustained a gastric fistula, was treated and investigated by Beaumont. With his human medium, Beaumont as the first to study digestion and the movements of the stomach in vivo. His work on the subject was the most important before Pavlov. Edinburgh imprint, 1838. Second edition, corrected, Burlington, Vt., 1847. Facsimile reprint, Cambridge, Harvard Univ. Press, 1929.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

William Beaumont recognized that the gastric juice contained some other active chemical substance besides hydrochloric acid. Schwann proved this to be pepsin. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

The first analysis of foodstuffs and fertilizers. Boussingault made a balance of intake and outgo of nutrients in food and excreta.

First gastric fistula established specially for the purpose of experimentation.

Gastric fistula for experimental purposes.

Bernard showed that if sucrose is injected directly into the blood it is eliminated by the kidneys while glucose is retained, and that gastric juice transforms sucrose into assimilable sugar. See F. J. Holmes, Claude Bernard and animal chemistry: The emergence of a scientist, Cambridge, Mass., 1974. This includes a history of research on digestion from 1750-1848.

Proof of the indispensability of bile to digestion.

Description of “Gerlach’s valve”, sometimes seen at the orifice of the appendix.

Bernard’s first communication regarding his investigation of the glycogenic function of the liver. Reprinted, with translation, in Med. Classics, 1939, 3, 552-80.

Discovery of the digestive action of the pancreatic juice, especially its role in the digestion and absorption of fats. Reprinted, with translation, in Med. Classics, 1939, 3, 581-617.

The innervation of the salivary glands first elucidated.

Even after the work of Prout and Beaumont, some physiologists thought that the free acid of the gastric juice was lactic acid; Bidder and Schmidt finally proved that normally the gastric juice always contains HCl in excess.

Isolation of glycogen. See also C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris), 1857, 44, 578-86, 1325-31.