Barend Joseph Stokvis
Encyclopedia
Barend Joseph Stokvis was a Dutch
physician
and professor of physiology and pharmacology who is mainly remembered for his description of acute porphyria
in 1889. As a researcher in chemical pathology he made contributions to the understanding of a number of diseases. He was also considered an expert in tropical medicine
and an influential medical educator
.
and Jacobus Schroeder van der Kolk
, obtaining a doctorate on a dissertation on hepatic
glucose production in diabetes in 1856. He may also have been influenced by the chemist Mulder
in Amsterdam. Subsequently he travelled to Paris
and Vienna
(and possibly Prague
) before establishing himself in medical practice in Amsterdam. He continued his medical research under the physiologists Adriaan Heynsius, Wilhelm Kühne
and Thomas Place. In 1867 he was received a gold medal by the Brussels Academy
for an essay on the development of albuminuria
(a kidney disorder in which the protein albumin
can be detected in the urine).
and pharmacodynamics
, and became a professor when the Athenaeum received university status and became the Municipal University of Amsterdam. He would serve as rector magnificus
(dean) of the university in the 1880s. His prolific output, mainly in chemical pathology
, included research into the metabolism of glycogen
, uric acid
, urea
, studies into an epidemic of cholera
in Amsterdam, the toxicity of Atropa belladonna, various pigmented substances in the blood (including porphyrin
s), the nature of the heart sounds
, and several contributions in tropical medicine
, in which was considered an expert. He also described methaemoglobinaemia.
The case of acute porphyria that he reported on in 1889 had been provoked by the newly introduced hypnotic drug sulfonmethane
(sulfonal). The patient's underlying condition was probably acute intermittent porphyria
, which can be provoked by medicines; several other reports followed shortly after, and other drugs were also found to be porphyrogenic. Stokvis observed the dark red urine, discovered that it contained porphyrin
s, and coined the name "porphyria" for the condition. The Swedish chemist Olof Hammarsten further characterised the chemical properties of the red compound found in the urine of the patients. Porphyrins had been described as a chemical entity in 1871 by the German
chemist Felix Hoppe-Seyler, named for their purple hue (poxphuros being Greek for "purple").
His most important work was judged in the day to have been his three-volume "Voordrachten over Geneesmiddelenleer" ("Speeches on Pharmacology", soon translated into the French "Leçons de Pharmacotherapie"), which appeared shortly before his death.
. In 1879 he was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and he would serve as vice-president of the Academy in 1896. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Edinburgh
in 1884. Stokvis also chaired the 1883 International Colonial Medicine Congress in Amsterdam. He was one of the founders (in 1896) of Janus, an international journal for the history of medicine
.
In addition to his medical work, Stokvis also succeeded his father as president of the Jewish Poor Board (Nederlandsch Israelietisch Armbestuur), was a member-founder of the Dutch Jewish Institute for the Insane, and a board member of the Jewish Institute for the Aged and the Amsterdam Jewish Hospital (Centraal Israëlitische Ziekenverpleging).
, from what was thought to be myocarditis
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and professor of physiology and pharmacology who is mainly remembered for his description of acute porphyria
Porphyria
Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
in 1889. As a researcher in chemical pathology he made contributions to the understanding of a number of diseases. He was also considered an expert in tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
and an influential medical educator
Medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or additional training thereafter ....
.
Early life and education
Stokvis was born to Joseph Barend Stokvis Jr, a Jewish physician and obstetrician in Amsterdam. He studied medicine in Amsterdam and at the University of Utrecht under Franciscus DondersFranciscus Donders
-External links:* B. Theunissen. , F.C. Donders: turning refracting into science, @ History of science and scholarship in the Netherlands.* in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science* P. Eling, , Geneeskundige en fysioloog....
and Jacobus Schroeder van der Kolk
Jacobus Schroeder van der Kolk
Jacobus Ludovicus Conradus Schroeder van der Kolk was a Dutch anatomist and physiologist, and an influential researcher into the causes of epilepsy and mental illness....
, obtaining a doctorate on a dissertation on hepatic
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
glucose production in diabetes in 1856. He may also have been influenced by the chemist Mulder
Gerardus Johannes Mulder
Gerardus Johannes Mulder was a Dutch organic and analytical chemist-Biography:Mulder was born in Utrecht, and earned a medical degree from Utrecht University....
in Amsterdam. Subsequently he travelled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(and possibly Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) before establishing himself in medical practice in Amsterdam. He continued his medical research under the physiologists Adriaan Heynsius, Wilhelm Kühne
Wilhelm Kühne
Wilhelm Friedrich Kühne was a German physiologist. Born in Hamburg, he is best known today for coining the word enzyme.-Biography:...
and Thomas Place. In 1867 he was received a gold medal by the Brussels Academy
The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium
There are two Royal Academies for Science and the Arts in Belgium, corresponding to the two main languages of the country, Dutch and French . The Academies are located in the Palace of Academies in Brussels....
for an essay on the development of albuminuria
Albuminuria
Albuminuria is a pathological condition wherein albumin is present in the urine. It is a type of proteinuria.Measurement=The amount of protein being lost in the urine can be quantified by collecting the urine for 24 hours, measuring a sample of the pooled urine, and extrapolating to the volume...
(a kidney disorder in which the protein albumin
Albumin
Albumin refers generally to any protein that is water soluble, which is moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experiences heat denaturation. They are commonly found in blood plasma, and are unique to other blood proteins in that they are not glycosylated...
can be detected in the urine).
Scientific career
In 1874 he was appointed as lecturer in medicine at the Athenaeum Illustre in medicine, pathologyPathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
and pharmacodynamics
Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacodynamics is the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on the body or on microorganisms or parasites within or on the body and the mechanisms of drug action and the relationship between drug concentration and effect...
, and became a professor when the Athenaeum received university status and became the Municipal University of Amsterdam. He would serve as rector magnificus
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
(dean) of the university in the 1880s. His prolific output, mainly in chemical pathology
Chemical pathology
Clinical chemistry is the area of clinical pathology that is generain concerned with analysis of bodily fluids....
, included research into the metabolism of glycogen
Glycogen
Glycogen is a molecule that serves as the secondary long-term energy storage in animal and fungal cells, with the primary energy stores being held in adipose tissue...
, uric acid
Uric acid
Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is created when the body breaks down purine nucleotides. High blood concentrations of uric acid...
, urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
, studies into an epidemic of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in Amsterdam, the toxicity of Atropa belladonna, various pigmented substances in the blood (including porphyrin
Porphyrin
Porphyrins are a group of organic compounds, many naturally occurring. One of the best-known porphyrins is heme, the pigment in red blood cells; heme is a cofactor of the protein hemoglobin. Porphyrins are heterocyclic macrocycles composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at...
s), the nature of the heart sounds
Heart sounds
Heart sounds, or heartbeats, are the noises generated by the beating heart and the resultant flow of blood through it...
, and several contributions in tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
, in which was considered an expert. He also described methaemoglobinaemia.
The case of acute porphyria that he reported on in 1889 had been provoked by the newly introduced hypnotic drug sulfonmethane
Sulfonmethane
Sulfonmethane is a chemical compound formerly used as a hypnotic drug, but now superseded by newer and safer sedatives. Its appearance is either in colorless crystalline or powdered form...
(sulfonal). The patient's underlying condition was probably acute intermittent porphyria
Acute intermittent porphyria
Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare autosomal dominant metabolic disorder affecting the production of heme, the oxygen-binding prosthetic group of hemoglobin. It is characterized by a deficiency of the enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase. Acute intermittent porphyria is the second most common...
, which can be provoked by medicines; several other reports followed shortly after, and other drugs were also found to be porphyrogenic. Stokvis observed the dark red urine, discovered that it contained porphyrin
Porphyrin
Porphyrins are a group of organic compounds, many naturally occurring. One of the best-known porphyrins is heme, the pigment in red blood cells; heme is a cofactor of the protein hemoglobin. Porphyrins are heterocyclic macrocycles composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at...
s, and coined the name "porphyria" for the condition. The Swedish chemist Olof Hammarsten further characterised the chemical properties of the red compound found in the urine of the patients. Porphyrins had been described as a chemical entity in 1871 by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemist Felix Hoppe-Seyler, named for their purple hue (poxphuros being Greek for "purple").
His most important work was judged in the day to have been his three-volume "Voordrachten over Geneesmiddelenleer" ("Speeches on Pharmacology", soon translated into the French "Leçons de Pharmacotherapie"), which appeared shortly before his death.
Professional activities
Stokvis was close to the influential German pathologist Rudolf VirchowRudolf Virchow
Rudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...
. In 1879 he was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
, and he would serve as vice-president of the Academy in 1896. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1884. Stokvis also chaired the 1883 International Colonial Medicine Congress in Amsterdam. He was one of the founders (in 1896) of Janus, an international journal for the history of medicine
History of medicine
All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods...
.
In addition to his medical work, Stokvis also succeeded his father as president of the Jewish Poor Board (Nederlandsch Israelietisch Armbestuur), was a member-founder of the Dutch Jewish Institute for the Insane, and a board member of the Jewish Institute for the Aged and the Amsterdam Jewish Hospital (Centraal Israëlitische Ziekenverpleging).
Personal life
In 1865 he married the sister of his close friend, the banker and philanthropist A.C. Wertheim. He was an ardent swimmer, and wrote poetry under several pseudonyms. He spoke several languages. He died in Amsterdam shortly after returning from a holiday in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, from what was thought to be myocarditis
Myocarditis
Myocarditis is inflammation of heart muscle . It resembles a heart attack but coronary arteries are not blocked.Myocarditis is most often due to infection by common viruses, such as parvovirus B19, less commonly non-viral pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi or Trypanosoma cruzi, or as a...
.