Theodor Frølich

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Theodor Frølich (1927)

Theodor Christian Brun Frølich (born September 29, 1870 in Christiania , † August 14, 1947 in Oslo) was a Norwegian pediatrician , university professor and pioneer in the field of scurvy research .

Career

Theodor Frølich (1889)
Theodor Frølich in the laboratory around 1910

Was Frølich 1903 with a treatise on diabetes in children to Dr. med. PhD . Afterwards he worked for a few years at the children's clinic at Rickshospitalet in Oslo and, at the same time, as an assistant at the Institute for Hygiene.

As a pediatrician, she was interested in the causes of Möller-Barlow disease, a form of scurvy that occurs in infants . At the time there were various speculations about the cause of this disease. They ranged from infections to poisoning . For example, the Norwegian physiologist Sophus Torup (1861–1937) claimed that scurvy was poisoning caused by the bacterial decomposition of meat. Together with the hygienist and bacteriologist Axel Holst , Frølich carried out experiments on guinea pigs , which they fed differently. Animals that were fed only grains developed symptoms after a few weeks that were very similar to those of humans in scurvy. By switching to a diet with fruit, vegetables and dandelions, the disease could be avoided or cured. They published their results in 1907.

Their discoveries were very controversial and caused quite a stir in the professional world. The concept of malnutrition as a cause of disease was new and revolutionary. Fridtjof Nansen, for example, wrote very derogatory newspaper articles about Holst and Frølich's work. He attributed the success of his expeditions to Torup, with whom he was friends. It would take about 60 years for their discovery to be properly appreciated. Today it is seen as the most important contribution to the elucidation of the etiology of scurvy.

From 1922 until his retirement in 1941 Frølich was Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oslo. The Frölich Peak , a mountain in Antarctica, has been named after him since 1959.

family

Theodor Frølich's parents were Theodor Christian Brun Frølich (1834-1904) and Bodil Christine Grønn (1834-1901). He himself was married from 1897 to Clara Constance Rosalie Aimée Thaulow Knutsen (1873-1948).

Works

  • T. Frølich: Study of Diabetes Mellitus i Barnealderen af ​​Theodor Frølich. 1903
  • T. Frølich: Experimental studies on infantile scurvy. In: Z. Hyg. Infektionskrankh. Volume 72, 1912, pp. 155-182.
  • T. Frølich: Pædiatri: en veiledning under study of the first barnealders sygdommer. 1924
  • T. Frølich: Nordisk Laerebog i Paediatri Munksgaard, 1945, 892 pp.
  • T. Frølich: Pædiatri. Steen, 1924

literature

Web links

Commons : Theodor Frølich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otto Arnold Delphin Amundsen: Studentene fra 1923: biografiske opplysninger mv, samlet til 25-års jubileet 1948. Aas & Wahls boktr., 1950, p. 340.
  2. ^ T. Frølich: Studier over Diabetes mellitus i barnealderen af ​​Theodor Frølich. 1903
  3. ^ A b K. R. Norum, HJ Grav: Axel Holst and Theodor Frølich - pionerer i bekjempelsen av skjørbuk. In: Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening. Volume 122, Number 17, June 2002, pp. 1686-1687, ISSN  0029-2001 . PMID 12555613 .
  4. ↑ a b B. C. Johnson: Axel Holst. In: The Journal of Nutrition. Volume 53, Number 1, May 1954, pp. 3-16, ISSN  0022-3166 . PMID 13163751 .
  5. ^ A. Holst, T. Frölich: Experimental Studies Relating to "Ship-beri-beri" and Scurvy. In: The Journal of hygiene. Volume 7, Number 5, October 1907, pp. 634-671, ISSN  0022-1724 . PMID 20474337 . PMC 2236195 (free full text).
  6. ↑ F. Nansen: Skjørbuk og Skibs-beriberi. In: Morgenbladet. dated December 24, 1909.
  7. ^ Roland Huntford : Scott And Amundsen: The Last Place on Earth. Hachette, 2012, ISBN 1-405-52031-0 , p. 111. Restricted preview in Google Book Search
  8. ↑ Per Holck: Theodor Frølich . In: Norsk biografisk leksikon . Updated 2009, accessed October 22, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Frølich, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Frølich, Theodor Christian Brun (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian pediatrician, university professor and pioneer in the field of scurvy research
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Christiania
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1947
Place of death Oslo