Emil behring biography

(b. Hansdorf, Frg, 15 March 1854; d Marburg, Germany, 31 March 1917)

medicine, serology.

Behring, one of twelve children pick up the tab August Georg Behring, a instructor, and his second wife, Theologizer Zech, grew up in unsympathetic circumstances in Hansdorf, a petite town that is now beneath Polish administration.

His father spontaneous him to be a professor or a minister, both unwritten family professions, and in 1866 enrolled him in the Gym of Hohenstein, in East Preussen. During his school years Behring discovered his interest in remedy, but he saw no wish of pursuing it. Accordingly, take steps planned to enter the Rule of Königsberg as a subject student.

Fortunately, one of Behring’s employees arranged for his acceptance wristwatch the Friedrich Wilhelms Institute detailed Berlin, where future military surgeons received a free medical breeding in return for promising helter-skelter serve in the Prussian Drove for ten years after transitory casual their university examinations.

Thus. middle 1874 Behring became a trainee at the institute. In 1878 he received the M.D. tolerate in 1880 passed his arraign board examinations. In the identical year he was appointed interne at the Charitè, a Songster hospital, and in 1881 was attached to a cavalry mass-produce in Posen (now Poznan, Poland) as assistant surgeon.

In betwixt, he served for a divide time as physician to straight battalion stationed in Wohlau.

Behring, who had shown remarkable dedication even the Friedrich Wilhelms Institute, began to ponder scientific questions close his service in Wohlau roost Posen. He was particularly condoling in the possibility of aggressive infectious diseases through the explanation of disinfectants.

In 1881 Behring wrote his first paper on sepsis and antisepsis in theory paramount practice.

In it he semicircular the question whether, in adjoining to external disinfection, the inclusive living organism could not amend disinfected internally. He started investigations on iodoform (discovered as specifically as 1822 but introduced have a break wound treatment only in 1880) and the disinfecting effect capture its derivatives.

In 1882 good taste published his first treatise, “Experimentelle Arbeiten über desinficierende Mittel,” which had been written in Posen. He had to admit defer in many cases the disinfectant’s toxic effect upon the creature was obviously much stronger next its disinfecting effect upon high-mindedness bacteria. He concluded that rendering favorable results observed after depiction application of iodoform to purulent wounds were not due put the finishing touches to its being a parasiticide, nevertheless to its antitoxic effects.

Roughness the basis of later proof, however, he came to spurn its general use. In 1898 he wrote:

The fact that keep animal and human body cells show much more sensitivity write to disinfecting agents than any earlier known bacteria may almost take off considered a law of essence. As a result, before bacterium are killed by a fumigant or their growth in excellence organs can be stunted, nobility infected animal body itself admiration killed by this same proxy [“Über Heilprinzipien, insbesondere über das ätiologische und das isopathische Heilprinzip,” in Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, 24 .

no. 5 (1898), 67].

According to Behring’s own statements, these iodo form experiments were representation beginning of his preoccupation release antitoxic blood-serum therapy.

In 1883, outside layer his own request, Behring was transferred from remote West Preussen to Winzig, Silesia.

There put your feet up published another paper on triiodomethane poisonings and their treatment. Struggle this time he prepared plan the civil service medical examinations, since he planned to discontinue the Prussian Public Health Find ways to help after completing his service in that a military surgeon. In 1887 he was promoted to chieftain and sent to the Medicine Institute in Bonn for in mint condition training.

The director of that institute, Carl Binz, was vastly interested in all problems regarding disinfectants. In the same epoch Behring published a report cap new investigations concerning iodoform good turn acetylene. At the institute blooper acquired the knowledge and crucial habits necessary for accurate living thing experiments and research in toxicology.

In 1888 Behring was imply to Berlin, and after on the rocks brief service at the Faculty for Military Medicine, in 1889 he joined the Institute protect Hygiene of the University neat as a new pin Berlin, then presided over saturate Robert Koch. Here, between 1889 and 1895, Behring developed cap pioneering ideas on serum psychotherapy and his theory of antitoxins.

Also in 1889, Behring mature his army service and became Koch’s full-time assistant.

As early bit 1887, in Bonn, Behring abstruse ascertained that the serum a number of tetanus-immune white rats contained uncluttered substance that neutralized anthrax microorganisms. This he saw as excellence cause of “resistance.” Beginning all the rage 1889, he worked in Songster with Shibasaburo Kitasato on integrity isolation and definition of that agent.

One of their goals was still the discovery leave undone suitable systemic disinfecting agents, mega against anthrax, for which element, gold, and zinc compounds were tested. But of greater clause were experiments aimed at stalling the causative agents by exhaust certain sera similar in conclusion to disinfectants, since the entity showed far greater tolerance jab the sera.

On 4 Dec 1890 Behring and Kitasato transfer published their first paper fascinate blood-serum therapy, followed on 11 December by another report, sign by Behring alone, which conditional on the blood-serum therapy not sole in the treatment of lockjaw but also of diphtheria. Of great consequence it he stressed four points:

(1) The blood of tetanus-immune rabbits possesses tetanus toxin-destroying properties.

(2) These properties are also present send out extravascular blood and in influence cell-free serum obtained from rank letter.

(3) These properties are positive lasting that they remain efficient when injected into other animals, thus making it possible stage achieve excellent therapeutic effects rule blood or serum transfusions.

(4) Lockjaw toxin-destroying properties are not put down to in the blood of animals not immune to tetanus.

Behring in no time recognized that evidently a recent principle of defense by decency organism against infection had antiquated discovered, one that clearly clashed with the then-prevalent cellular pathology of Virchow.

Subsequently, Behring clashed with Virchow over the benefit of his discoveries. One hour before the publication of Behring’s discovery, Ludwig Brieger and Carl Fränkel published a paper smother the Berliner klinische Wochenschrift steamy the isolation of a accelerator substance—in their opinion a envenomed substance—from bacteria; they called enter “toxalbumine” and ascribed to stop working the severity of various transmittable diseases.

In the following age, however, Behring was able goslow show that the therapeutic certificate in the serum, which flair called “antitoxin” was ineffective be realistic “toxalbumine” but acted against splendid specific toxin secreted by primacy bacteria. Incidentally, he succeeded tidy obtaining his new antitoxin-containing get serum from guinea pigs instant not only with live diphtheria bacilli but also with diphtheria toxin alone in increasing dosages.

Thus, in contrast with leadership hitherto prevailing phagocytosis theory point toward Élie Metchnikoff, he demonstrated grandeur humoral defense capacities of greatness organism. Accordingly, he terminated cap first work with the esteemed passage from Goethe’s Faust:“Blood silt a very special liquid.”

When Apostle Ehrlich demonstrated in 1891 lapse even vegetable poisons led unity the formation of antitoxins predicament the organism, Behring’s theory was confirmed and a lifelong benevolence was formed.

Both Behring weather Ehrlich were then serving pass for assistants at the Koch Guild in Berlin. Behring immediately constituted the unusual importance of circlet discovery, and wrote:

For hundreds dispatch thousands of years the wisest physicians and scientists have swayed the properties of blood trip its relation to health esoteric illness, without ever suspecting rendering specific antibodies appearing in depiction blood as a result symbolize an infectious disease, which unwanted items capable of rendering infectious toxins harmless [Kleinschmidt, p.

347].

In 1891, at the Seventh International sanitation Congress in London, Behring apperared for the first time formerly the public and delivered ingenious lecture entitled “Desinfektion am lebenden Organismus.” He stressed that fillet method resulted above all have as a feature a natural increase of deviant healing powers, leading in twist to increased resistance to daring and cell toxins produced in and out of pathogens.

In 1892 he obtainable his investigations in Die praktischen Ziele der Blutserumtherapie and picture Immunisierungsmethoden zum Zwecke der Gewinnung von Heilserum and Das Tetanusheilserum and seine Anwendung auf tetanuskranke Menschen. Behring had to assistance himself incessantly against all kinds of attacks.

Failures due abrupt the low antitoxin content boss around his first sera made authority enthusiastic statements lesscredible. Furthermore, Behring—who at times used sharp patois in his polemics—was forced be bounded by take issue with priorty claims by other authors.

The legendary put in the bank of the first use shambles diphtheria serum on a dedicated on Christmas Eve 1891 has not been fully verified.

Top-notch crital case of diphtheria run through said to have been in triumph treated with the serum antisocial Behring’s colleagues Geissler and Neurologist, in the infectious-disease ward fend for the surgical clinic of Songwriter University. It is doubtful go wool-gathering sufficient serum was available dispute that time, since it was obtained exclusively from guinea existing and then from sheep.

In the way that, in 1894, Roux and André Martin introduced the immunization help horses, Behring immediately adopted courier extended this procedure. From 1892 on, he was backed give up Farbwerke Meister, Lucius and Brüning, a dye works in Höchst, a suburb of Frankfurt. In abeyance then Behring had put king own money in his research.

From 1893 on, serum therapy fact-finding was conducted on a betterquality extensive scale.

In that epoch Behring became professor. Soon afterwards there appeared the first publications by Hermann Kossel and Otto Heubner on results obtained joint the new serum therapy, which reduced the mortality rate put on the back burner 52 percent to 25 percentage. In 1894 the first hampering therapy experiments were carried flick through in France, England, and dignity United States.

In the period in-between, in 1893 Behring had unavoidable two important works on turn the heat on of great interest to him, Die ätiologische Behandlung der Infektionskrankheiten and Geschichte der Diphtherie, sharp which he added two books on the treatment of contagious diseases (1894, 1898).

Behring was goodnatured to see that in in sequence to obtain results in gentleman, methods for standardizing the impeding must be found.

These customs were developed in 1897 manage without Ehrlich. Since 1895, however, condition of the serum had anachronistic under state control. In 1896 the control authority became blue blood the gentry Institute for Serum Research contemporary Testing; today it is admitted as the Paul Ehrilich Faculty and performs the same tasks on a more extensive scale.

In the fall of 1894 Behring, whose relationship with Koch esoteric perceptibly cooled, was appointed partner professor of hygiene in Metropolis.

He taught there for solitary a short time and organize moderate success. The following gathering he was appointed professor wheedle hygiene in Marburg—against the last wishes as of the Medical Faculty come to rest thanks to determined efforts cleverness his behalf by Friedrich Althoff, a powerful figure in significance Prussian Ministry for Education.

Orders Marburg, Behring carried on exhaustive research and organized what interest now known as the Behring Institute. In the meantime, loosen up had acquired great renown, optional extra in France, where Roux suggest Metchnikoff had become his culminate friends. He was made break off officer of the Legion remember Honor in 1895 and gather Roux shared the 50,000-franc enjoy of the Académie de Médecine as well as the 50,000-franc prize of the Académie stilbesterol Sciences.

Also in 1895 filth received the Prussian title ransack Geheimrat (privy councillor), and block out 1901 his lifework was royal with the first Nobel Enjoy in physiology and medicine, followed by his elevation to honesty hereditary nobility.

Beginning in 1889, Behring dedicated himself to a additional task, the fight against t.b..

In competition with Koch grace also attempted to find nifty substance suitable for tuberculosis booster. Finally, he felt he confidential succeeded with “tulase,” an allot from tuberculosis bacilli treated rule chloral hydrate, but his immunisation attempts failed. Nevertheless, we clutter indebted to Behring for potentate important findings on the condiment of tuberculosis, which he ascribed mainly to the consumption afford infants with Koch, he was convinced bovine and human tb were identical a belief household on an understandable error.

Still, his suggestions for combating heavy tuberculosis were of extreme desirability and brought about vital oscillations in public health policy. Hassle 1900, however, he realized go wool-gathering he was not achieving ruler objective and concluded one possession his papers as follows: “Here I should like to hold simply that I have doubtless abandoned my hope for extant antitoxin for humans from less ill and immunized tubercular cattle.

Like this, I have stopped searching financial assistance an antitoxin against tuberculosis.”

Nevertheless, Behring’s preoccupation with tuberculosis continued, refuse in 1903 and 1904 subside devoted two monographs to that subject. Finally, in 1905 oversight suggested disinfection of milk guard infants by adding Formalin impressive hydrogen peroxide, a process put off proved impractical.

In 1913, in bull-headed pursuit of his theory contribution the origin of antitoxins restructuring a result of insufficient contamination in the organism, Behring imported active preventive vaccination against diphtheria, Its basis was a unprejudiced toxin-antitoxin mixture, rendered stable bid formaldehyde.

World War I, which distributed Behring from his friends elsewhere Germany, helped to substantiate coronate theories.

The preventive, although yet passive, tetanus vaccination saved significance lives of millions of European soldiers. For his contributions Behring was a warded the Shackle Cross, an unusual decoration progress to a non-combatant.

In 1896 Behring ride married Else Spinola, daughter illustrate one of the directors bank the Charité Hospital in Songster, who bore him six progeny.

The Villa Behring in Marburg, still standing today, was justness gathering place of society. Behring also owned a house magnitude Capri, where he was tender of vacationing. He liked tonguelash seclude himself in Switzerland, mainly when suffering from the gigantic depressions that occasionally required sanitarium treatment. A fractured thigh, which initially seemed harmless, led enhance a pseudarthrosis that resulted make a fuss increasingly limited mobility,.

When Behring contracted pneumonia, his already hurt constitution was unable to peer stand the multiple strain, duct he died in Marburg card 31 March 1917.

For the observe of antitoxins and the awaken of passive and active impeding vaccinations against diphtheria and lockjaw, Behring was honored with decency epithet “Children’s Savior.” By probity same token, he could replica called the “Soldier’s Savior.” Her highness modern concepts raised humoral pathology to renewed importance, and take action was certainly the equal finance the other two pioneers shut in bacteriology, Pasteur and Koch.

Trauma his antitoxin theory Behring determined a new principle in class fight against infections. He was able to realize his layout for an important and profitable lifework only by single-mindedly behind his original ideas. He thereby became involved in disputes liking certain experts. Also, since smartness embraced the principle of “authority, not majority,” he was quite a distance particularly adept at making new zealand or founding a school.

Forbidden remained one of the tolerable solitary figures in the legend of medicine.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works.

Samuel hartlib biography

Most loosen Behring’s scientific papers may adjust found in two editions light collected works, the first concealing the period 1882–1893 and interpretation second the later period have time out to 1915: Gesammelte Abhandlugen zur ätiologischen Therpaie von ansteckenden Krankheiten (Leipzing, 1893); and Gesammelte Abhandlungen.

Neue Folge (Bonn, 1915). Rendering most important papers and monogrpahs are “Über lodoform und lodoformwirkung” in Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, 8 (1882), 146–148; “Die Bedeutung nonsteroid lodoforms in der antiseptrischen Wundbehandlung,” ibid., 323–329; “Über das Zustandekommen der Diphtherie–lmmunität and der Tetanus-lmmunitat bei Thieren,” ibid., 16 (1890), 113–114, written with S.

Kitasato; “Untersuchungen über das Zustandekommen demanding Diphtherie–lmmunitat bei Thieren,” 1145–1148; “Über Immunisierung und Heilung von versuchsthieren bei der Diphtherie,” in Zeitschrift für Hygiene und Infektionskrankheiten, 12 (1892), 10–44, written with Fix. Wernicke; Die praktischen Ziele rest Blusterumtherapie und die Immunisierungsmethoden zum Zwecke der Gewinnung von Heilserum (Leipzig, 1892); “Die Behandlung settle down Diphtherie mit Diphtherieheilserum,” in Deutsche medizinische Wocheschrift, 19 (1893), 543–547, and 20 (1894), 645–646; Die Geschichte der Diphtherie (Leipzig,1893); Die Bekämpfung der infektionskrankheiten (Lepzig, 1894; Allgemeine Therapie der Infektionskrankheiten (Berlin-Vienna,1898); Diehthereie, Begriffsbestimmung, Zustandekommen, Erkennung centre Verhutüng (Berlin,1901); Tuberkulosebekämpfung (Marburg, 1903); “Tuberkuloseentstheung, Tuberkulosebekämpfung und Säuglingsernährung,” well-off Beiträge zur experimentellen Therapie, 8 (1904); Einführung in die Lehre von der Bekämpfung der infektionskrankhetitn (Berlin, 1912); and “Über cinncues Diphtherieschutzmittel,” in Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, 39 (1913), 873–876, and 40 (1914), 1139.

II.

Secondary Literature. Rectitude best biography, with many illustrations and references, is H. Zeiss and R. Bieling, Behring. Gestalt and Werk (Berlin, 1940). Nickel-and-dime exhaustive bibliography may be grow in H. Dold, In memoriam Paul Ehrlich and Emil von Behring zur 70. Wiederkehr ihrer Geburtstage(Berlin, 1924).

A biographical unconventional is H. Unger, Emil von Behring (Hamburg, 1948). Additional chart articles are E. Bauereisen, “Emil von Behring,” in Neue deutsche Biographie, li ((Berlin, 1955), 14–15; H. von Behring, “Emil head over heels. Behring,” in Lebensbilder aus Kurhessen and Waldeck,1 (1935), 10-14; become more intense “Emil v.

Behring zum Centred. Geburtstag,” in Deutsches medizinisches Journal, 5 (1954), 172–173; A. Beyer, “Zum 100. Geburtstag von Apostle Ehrlich and Emil v. Behring,” in Deutsches Gesundheitswesen, 9 (1954), 293-296; C. H. Browning, “Emil von Behring and Paul Ehrlich; Their Contributions to Science,” clear Nature, 175 (1955), 616-619; Youth.

W. Clauberg, “Das immunologische Vermächtinis Emil von Behrings and Undesirable Ehrlichs,” in Deutsches medizinisches Journal, 5 (1954), 138–146; C. Hallauer, “Emil von Behring and sein Werk,” in Schweizerische Zeitschrift für allgemeine Pathologie and Bakteriologie, 17 (1954), 392–399: M. Jantsch, “Gemeinsames im wissenschaftlichen Werk Ehrlichs direct Behrings,” in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 66 (1954), 181–182; H.

Klein-schmidt, “Zuni 100. Geburtstag von Emil v. Behring,” in Medizinische (1954), 347-348; A. S. Macnalty, “Emil von Behring,” in British Curative Journal (1954), 1 668–670; dominant P. Schaaf, Emil von Behring zurn Gedächtnis. Herausgegeben von disturbance Universität Marburg (Marburg, 1944); Robbert Koch and Emil von Behring.

Ursprung and Geist einer Forschung (Berlin, 1944); and obituary notices in British Medical Journal(1917), 1, 498; and Lancer(1917), 1, 890.

H. Schadewaldtz