Emil du Bois-Reymond vs Ludimar Hermann.
This essay recounts a controversy between a pioneer electrophysiologist, Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818-1896), and his student, Ludimar Hermann (1838-1914). Du Bois-Reymond proposed a molecular explanation for the slight electrical currents that he detected in frog muscles and nerves. Hermann argued that du Bois-Reymond's 'resting currents' were an artifact of injury to living tissue. He contested du Bois-Reymond's molecular model, explaining his teacher's observations as electricity produced by chemical decomposition. History has painted Hermann as the wrong party in this dispute. I seek to set the record straight.
Finkelstein
Gabriel
G
Department of History, CB 182, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, CO 80217, USA. gabriel.finkelstein@cudenver.edu
D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000266:history*; D013337:Students, Medical; D013557:Switzerland