From collection Person List
In the early twentieth century Alexis Carrel, in sometime partnership with Charles Guthrie, developed many of the operative techniques which were brought to bear in vascular surgery in later years.
Carrel was born in Lyons, France in 1873 and spent much of his early life there, graduating from the undergraduate and medical schools of the University of Lyons. In the first years of his career Carrel was influenced by a professor of surgery, M. Jaboulay, who did early research work in vascular anastomoses. Although he published important research papers, the young Carrel was unable to pass a difficult examination required to obtain a faculty position at the university and, frustrated, embarked on a journey to North America in 1904. There he obtained a position at the University of Chicago, where he collaborated with the young American physiologist Charles Guthrie. Working together, over the next two years these two investigators performed seminal work developing techniques of vascular anastomoses, the use of vein grafts in arterial reconstruction, tissue preservation, and organ transplantation, publishing 28 papers between November 1904 and August 1906.
Carrel then moved to the Rockefeller Institute in New York City, where he continued to perform groundbreaking research in cardiovascular surgery, including the development of mitral valve procedures, ventricular aneurysmectomy, and coronary artery bypass. He also made significant advances in techniques of tissue culture and preservation.
In 1912 Carrel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. At 39 years of age, he was the youngest scientist to receive this award.
In World War One Carrel contributed to the war effort of his native country by conducting investigations on wound healing and infections. Collaboration with the chemist Henry Dakin led to the development of an antiseptic solution widely used for wound irrigation. For this and other contributions, Carrel received high honors from the governments of France and other Allied nations.
After the war, Carrel returned to the United States and the Rockefeller Institute to work on a perfusion pump for organ preservation, collaborating successfully with the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s. In 1935 he wrote a book, Man, the Unknown, which explored the topics of physiology, society, and philosophy. This book, which became an international bestseller, delved into the then-prevalent concept of eugenics, generating considerable controversy.
In 1939 Carrel, compelled to retire at age 65 and disillusioned with both the Rockefeller Institute and the scientific establishment in general, returned to France. In 1941 he became affiliated with the Vichy government-sponsored Fondation Française pour l'Etude des Problèmes Humains. After the liberation of Paris, Carrel was accused of collaboration with the Germans, although proof of this has never been established. He died on November 5, 1944, in Paris.
References:
Carrel was born in Lyons, France in 1873 and spent much of his early life there, graduating from the undergraduate and medical schools of the University of Lyons. In the first years of his career Carrel was influenced by a professor of surgery, M. Jaboulay, who did early research work in vascular anastomoses. Although he published important research papers, the young Carrel was unable to pass a difficult examination required to obtain a faculty position at the university and, frustrated, embarked on a journey to North America in 1904. There he obtained a position at the University of Chicago, where he collaborated with the young American physiologist Charles Guthrie. Working together, over the next two years these two investigators performed seminal work developing techniques of vascular anastomoses, the use of vein grafts in arterial reconstruction, tissue preservation, and organ transplantation, publishing 28 papers between November 1904 and August 1906.
Carrel then moved to the Rockefeller Institute in New York City, where he continued to perform groundbreaking research in cardiovascular surgery, including the development of mitral valve procedures, ventricular aneurysmectomy, and coronary artery bypass. He also made significant advances in techniques of tissue culture and preservation.
In 1912 Carrel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. At 39 years of age, he was the youngest scientist to receive this award.
In World War One Carrel contributed to the war effort of his native country by conducting investigations on wound healing and infections. Collaboration with the chemist Henry Dakin led to the development of an antiseptic solution widely used for wound irrigation. For this and other contributions, Carrel received high honors from the governments of France and other Allied nations.
After the war, Carrel returned to the United States and the Rockefeller Institute to work on a perfusion pump for organ preservation, collaborating successfully with the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s. In 1935 he wrote a book, Man, the Unknown, which explored the topics of physiology, society, and philosophy. This book, which became an international bestseller, delved into the then-prevalent concept of eugenics, generating considerable controversy.
In 1939 Carrel, compelled to retire at age 65 and disillusioned with both the Rockefeller Institute and the scientific establishment in general, returned to France. In 1941 he became affiliated with the Vichy government-sponsored Fondation Française pour l'Etude des Problèmes Humains. After the liberation of Paris, Carrel was accused of collaboration with the Germans, although proof of this has never been established. He died on November 5, 1944, in Paris.
References:
1. Carrel A. La technique operatoire des anastomoses vasculaires at la transplantation des visceres. Lyon Med.,1902.
2. Carrel, A. On the Permanent Life of Tissues Outside of the Organism". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 15 (5): 516–528.
3. Dakin H. On the use of certain antiseptic substances in the treatment of infected wounds". British Med J, 2852(2):318–310.
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