Peter Ludvig Panum (19 December 1820 – 2 May 1885) was a Danish

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemica ...

and

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in th ...

born on the island of Bornholm in

Rønne Rønne ( sv, Rönne) is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,807 (1 January 2022). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county (Danish: ''Bornh ...

. The Panum Institute in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

is named in his honor.

Early life and education

Panum was born in

on the island of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

, the son of regiment surgeon Jens Severin Nathanael Panum (1792-1836) and Johanne Caroline Louise Charlotte Lande (1798-1844). The family moved to

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

in 1829, where his father had assumed a position as regiment surgeon. After matriculating from Flensburg Learned School in 1840, Panum enrolled first at Kiel University before in 1841 transferring to the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

Career

After completing his medical studies in 1845, Panum assumed a position at Almindelig Hospital in Copenhagen. During 1846 he was chosen by the government to undertake research of a

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. As a result of his investigations he published a classic treatise titled "Observations Made During the Epidemic of Measles on the Faroe Islands in the Year 1846". Later he studied with

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (; or ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder ...

at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

(1851), and with Claude Bernard in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

(1852–53). From 1855 Panum was a professor at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, where he established a laboratory for physiology. In 1856, he published his research into what is now known as an

endotoxin Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide that are bacterial toxins. They are composed of an O-antigen, an outer core, and an inner core all joined by a covalent bond, and are found in the outer m ...

. This is now acknowledged as the first systematic and scientific studies of endotoxins, a substance once referred to as "putrid poison" that was thought to be responsible for symptoms and signs observed in individuals with

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. In 1858, Panum published his research into

binocular vision In biology, binocular vision is a type of vision in which an animal has two eyes capable of facing the same direction to perceive a single three-dimensional image of its surroundings. Binocular vision does not typically refer to vision where an ...

, in particular into how far from the eyes an object could appear as a single object when looking at another object at a different distance from the eyes. Troubled by anti-Danish sentiment at Kiel, Panum relocated to the

during 1862, where he spent the remainder of his career. Among his students at Copenhagen were physiologist Christian Bohr (1855-1911) and zymologist Emil Christian Hansen (1842-1909). He was President of the 8th International Medical Congress which was held in Copenhagen.

Personal life

Panum was married to Hortense Susanne Hagen (1826-1899) on September 5,1853, daughter of merchant and farmer Peter Munck Hagen (1796-1865) and Charlotte Frederikke Søbøtker (1801-70). He was the father of Hortense Panum and Peter Panum. Panum died on 2 May 1885 and is buried in the local Garrison Cemetery.

Accolades

Panum was created a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1850 and was created a 2nd-class Commander in 1883. He was awarded the Cross of Honour in 1878. From his studies of binocular vision, Panum's name came to be used for the area of the visual field in which an object appeared to be single rather than

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

. It is called ''Panum's area'' or '' Panum's fusional area'' The Panum Building is named after him.

Publications

* ''Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Physiologie und Pathologie der Embolie, Transfusion und Blutmenge'', 1864 - Experimental studies on the physiology and pathology of

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas ( gas embolism), amniotic fluid (am ...

, transfusion and

blood volume Blood volume (volemia) is the volume of blood (blood cells and plasma) in the circulatory system of any individual. Humans A typical adult has a blood volume of approximately 5 liters, with females and males having approximately the same blood ...

. ** Works by Panum that have been translated into English: * Observations Made During the Epidemic of Measles on the Faroe Islands in the Year 1846. * XI: Observations on the Measles Contagion. * Physiological Investigations Concerning Vision with Two Eyes. ** Publications about Panum: * Bibliographical biography of Peter Ludvig Panum (1820-1885), epidemiologist and physiologist by W M Gafafer.World Cat Titles
Bibliographical biography of Peter Ludvig Panum

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panum, Peter Ludvig 1820 births 1885 deaths People from Bornholm Danish physiologists Danish pathologists Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Rectors of the University of Copenhagen Burials at the Garrison Cemetery, Copenhagen Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders Second Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala