Abraham Louis Levin (December 16, 1880 – September 15, 1940) was an American physician and the inventor of the Levin Tube, which is still widely used for duodenal drainage after surgery and for management of trauma patients.K.G. Swan, et al., "Abraham Louis Levin: Demystifying the Duodenum"
''The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery''
Volume 69, pp. 1583-7, December 2010. This procedure is known as

nasogastric intubation Nasogastric intubation is a medical process involving the insertion of a plastic tube (nasogastric tube or NG tube) through the nose, down the esophagus, and down into the stomach. Orogastric intubation is a similar process involving the insertio ...

. Levin was born in

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(née Levitansky). He emigrated with his family to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, in 1902. He graduated from Blinn Memorial College in 1903 and subsequently earned his

MD degree A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

from

Tulane University School of Medicine Tulane University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tulane University and is located in the Medical District of the New Orleans Central Business District in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History The school was founded in 183 ...

in 1907. Levin completed post-graduate training in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. He spent most of his career as a practicing physician at

Touro Infirmary Touro Infirmary is a non-profit hospital located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded by Judah Touro in 1852, it is a part of the LCMC Health System. Organization Touro Infirmary is affiliated with the Louisiana State University Health Scien ...

of New Orleans. Nasogastric Intubation

In addition to his private practice of medicine, Levin served in the US Army Medical Corps in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Camp Beauregard Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) is a Louisiana National Guard installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Pari ...

in Louisiana. Levin treated large numbers of trauma patients with gastrointestinal involvement during his military duty. This was a period of extensive investigation into the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in the medical community. Levin first published on his invention in 1921.A.L. Levin, "A New Gastroduodenal Catheter", ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...

'', 1921, 76:1007. Initially, Levin envisioned diagnostic uses of his nasogastric drainage device, such as for gallbladder disease.A.L. Levin, "Gall Bladder Disease and its Treatment",
New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal
'', 1921-22, 74:255-269. His 1927 publication anticipated the modern use of the invention for gastric decompression resulting from abdominal distention.A.L. Levin, "Post-operative Biliary Vomiting and Regurgitation Causes and Treatment: Preliminary Report", ''

Southern Medical Journal The ''Southern Medical Journal'' (SMJ) is a peer-reviewed medical journal, established by Milton Antony. It is the official publication of the Southern Medical Association. The journal is indexed and abstracted in Index Medicus, Current Content ...

'', 1927 20:908. Levin died on September 15, 1940. An annual Levin Memorial Address was established at Louisiana State University School of Medicine,''

New Orleans Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'', April 8, 1956. and a Levin Memorial Award for the outstanding medical intern was established at Touro Infirmary.''

'', June 11, 1957. Levin's cousin

Samuel A. Levine Samuel Albert Levine (January 1, 1891 – March 31, 1966) was an American cardiologist. The Levine scale, Levine's sign and Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome are named after him. The Samuel Albert Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospita ...

(note the difference in spelling) is credited with defining the Levine's sign, used in

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Abraham Louis American gastroenterologists United States Army Medical Corps officers United States Army personnel of World War I 1880 births 1940 deaths Tulane University School of Medicine alumni Blinn College alumni 20th-century American inventors