Augustus Volney Waller
Encyclopedia
Augustus Volney Waller FRS (21 December 1816 - 18 September 1870) was a British neurophysiologist. He was the first to describe the degeneration of severed nerve fiber
s, now known as Wallerian degeneration
.
, Kent
, was born on 21 December 1816. His youth was spent at Nice, where his father died in 1830. Waller was then sent back to England, where he lived, first with Dr. Lacon Lambe of Tewkesbury
, and afterwards with William Lambe the vegetarian. His father sharing Lambe's views, Augustus was brought up until the age of eighteen on a vegetarian diet.
Waller studied in Paris, where he obtained the degree of M.D. in 1840, and in the following year he was admitted a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in London. He then entered general medical practice at St. Mary Abbott's Terrace, Kensington
. He soon acquired a considerable practice, but after the publication of two papers in the Philosophical Transactions for 1849 and 1850, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851. He gave up his practice the same year, and left England to live at Bonn
and carryi on his scientific work. Here he became associated with Professor Julius Ludwig Budge, and published papers in the Comptes Rendus for 1851 and 1852, on physiological subjects. For these papers he was awarded the Monthyon prize of the French Academy of Sciences
for 1852, and for further work this prize was given to him a second time in 1856. The president and council of the Royal Society also awarded him one of their royal medals in 1860 in recognition of the importance of his physiological methods and researches.
Waller left Bonn in 1856, and went to Paris to continue his work in Flourens
's laboratory at the Jardin des Plantes
; but he soon contracted some form of infection, which left him an invalid for the next two years. He returned to England, and, his health improving, he accepted in 1858 the appointment of professor of physiology in Queen's College, Birmingham
, and the post of physician to the hospital. These appointments he did not long retain. The heart affection which eventually proved fatal led him to seek rest, and, after staying two years longer in England, he retired first to Bruges
and afterwards to Switzerland.
in 1868, with the purpose of practising as a physician, and he was almost immediately elected a member of the Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle there. He paid a short visit to London in the spring of 1869 to deliver the Croonian lecture
before the Royal Society, and he afterwards returned to Geneva, where he died suddenly of angina pectoris on 18 September 1870.
and the vaso-constrictor action of the sympathetic; and he invented the degeneration method of studying the paths of nerve impulses. He practically rediscovered the power which the white corpuscles possess of escaping from the smallest blood-vessels, while some of his earlier work was concerned with purely physical problems.
The most important of Waller's papers are to be found in the ‘Comptes Rendus,’ in the ‘Philosophical Magazine,’ and in the ‘Philosophical Transactions.’ The Wallerian degeneration is described in the ‘Comptes Rendus,’ 1 Dec. 1851. The demonstration of the cilio-spinal centre was the result of work done jointly with Professor Budge, and is described in the ‘Comptes Rendus’ for October 1851. The function of the ganglion
on the posterior root of each spinal nerve is published in the ‘Comptes Rendus’ (xxxv. 524). ‘The Microscopic Observations on the Perforation of the Capillaries by the Corpuscles of the Blood, and on the Origin of Mucus and Pus,’ appeared in the ‘Philosophical Magazine’ for November 1846, while the ‘Microscopic Investigations on Hail’ were printed in the same journal for July and August 1846 and March 1847.
, M.D., F.R.S., the physiologist, and two daughters.
Attribution
Nerve fiber
A nerve fiber is a threadlike extension of a nerve cell and consists of an axon and myelin sheath in the nervous system. There are nerve fibers in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. A nerve fiber may be myelinated and/or unmyelinated. In the central nervous system , myelin...
s, now known as Wallerian degeneration
Wallerian degeneration
Wallerian degeneration is a process that results when a nerve fiber is cut or crushed, in which the part of the axon separated from the neuron's cell body degenerates distal to the injury. This is also known as anterograde degeneration, or orthograde degeneration...
.
Life
The son of William Waller of Elverton Farm, near FavershamFaversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, was born on 21 December 1816. His youth was spent at Nice, where his father died in 1830. Waller was then sent back to England, where he lived, first with Dr. Lacon Lambe of Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
, and afterwards with William Lambe the vegetarian. His father sharing Lambe's views, Augustus was brought up until the age of eighteen on a vegetarian diet.
Waller studied in Paris, where he obtained the degree of M.D. in 1840, and in the following year he was admitted a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in London. He then entered general medical practice at St. Mary Abbott's Terrace, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. He soon acquired a considerable practice, but after the publication of two papers in the Philosophical Transactions for 1849 and 1850, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851. He gave up his practice the same year, and left England to live at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and carryi on his scientific work. Here he became associated with Professor Julius Ludwig Budge, and published papers in the Comptes Rendus for 1851 and 1852, on physiological subjects. For these papers he was awarded the Monthyon prize of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
for 1852, and for further work this prize was given to him a second time in 1856. The president and council of the Royal Society also awarded him one of their royal medals in 1860 in recognition of the importance of his physiological methods and researches.
Waller left Bonn in 1856, and went to Paris to continue his work in Flourens
Flourens
-Places:*Flourens, a commune of France, in the Haute-Garonne département.-People:*Émile Flourens, French revolutionary and writer*Gustave Flourens, French politician*Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist...
's laboratory at the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
; but he soon contracted some form of infection, which left him an invalid for the next two years. He returned to England, and, his health improving, he accepted in 1858 the appointment of professor of physiology in Queen's College, Birmingham
Queen's College, Birmingham
The Birmingham Medical School was founded by surgeon William Sands Cox in 1828 as a residential college for medical students in central Birmingham, England. It was the first Birmingham institution to award degrees, through the University of London. Cox went on to found the Queen's Hospital in Bath...
, and the post of physician to the hospital. These appointments he did not long retain. The heart affection which eventually proved fatal led him to seek rest, and, after staying two years longer in England, he retired first to Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and afterwards to Switzerland.
Works
With renewed health, he moved to GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in 1868, with the purpose of practising as a physician, and he was almost immediately elected a member of the Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle there. He paid a short visit to London in the spring of 1869 to deliver the Croonian lecture
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Lectures are prestigious lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow one lectureship at both the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians...
before the Royal Society, and he afterwards returned to Geneva, where he died suddenly of angina pectoris on 18 September 1870.
Works
He demonstrated the cilio-spinal centre in the spinal cordSpinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
and the vaso-constrictor action of the sympathetic; and he invented the degeneration method of studying the paths of nerve impulses. He practically rediscovered the power which the white corpuscles possess of escaping from the smallest blood-vessels, while some of his earlier work was concerned with purely physical problems.
The most important of Waller's papers are to be found in the ‘Comptes Rendus,’ in the ‘Philosophical Magazine,’ and in the ‘Philosophical Transactions.’ The Wallerian degeneration is described in the ‘Comptes Rendus,’ 1 Dec. 1851. The demonstration of the cilio-spinal centre was the result of work done jointly with Professor Budge, and is described in the ‘Comptes Rendus’ for October 1851. The function of the ganglion
Ganglion
In anatomy, a ganglion is a biological tissue mass, most commonly a mass of nerve cell bodies. Cells found in a ganglion are called ganglion cells, though this term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to retinal ganglion cells....
on the posterior root of each spinal nerve is published in the ‘Comptes Rendus’ (xxxv. 524). ‘The Microscopic Observations on the Perforation of the Capillaries by the Corpuscles of the Blood, and on the Origin of Mucus and Pus,’ appeared in the ‘Philosophical Magazine’ for November 1846, while the ‘Microscopic Investigations on Hail’ were printed in the same journal for July and August 1846 and March 1847.
Family
He married, in 1842, Matilda, only daughter of John Walls of North End, Fulham, and by her had one son, Augustus Desiré WallerAugustus Desiré Waller
Augustus Desiré Waller FRS was a British physiologist and the son of Augustus Volney Waller. He was born in Paris, France.He created the first practical ECG machine with surface electrodes.He died in London.-Further reading:...
, M.D., F.R.S., the physiologist, and two daughters.
External links
- http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/2383.html
Attribution