Dr Charles Alexander MacMunn (11 April 1852 – 18 February 1911) was the first to describe the

respiratory pigment A respiratory pigment is a metalloprotein that serves a variety of important functions, its main being O2 transport. Other functions performed include O2 storage, CO2 transport, and transportation of substances other than respiratory gases. There ...

in blood, known today as Cytochrome1. It was one of the most significant discoveries made by an Irish doctor.

Biography

MacMunn was born on 11 April 1852 in Easkey,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

, Ireland, the son of James MacMunn MD. He was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, graduating BA with honours in 1871, MB in 1872, MD in 1875. He studied under William Stokes. He moved to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

in 1873 to work within his cousin's practice, subsequently taking over the practice on his cousin's death. He had a loft of his stable converted to a laboratory work he could carry out work on his spectroscopy when not otherwise engaged with the practice. He was the author of numerous papers on medicine, physiology and biology. His seminal paper was published in 1880 entitled "The Spectroscope in Medicine". He used the spectroscope to study pigments in microorganisms and muscular tissue. He was the first to describe

cytochrome Cytochromes are redox-active proteins containing a heme, with a central iron (Fe) atom at its core, as a cofactor. They are involved in the electron transport chain and redox catalysis. They are classified according to the type of heme and its ...

s, which he termed myohaematins (respiratory pigments of muscle). Serious criticism of his work, led by German scientist

Felix Hoppe-Seyler Ernst Felix Immanuel Hoppe-Seyler (''né'' Felix Hoppe; 26 December 1825 – 10 August 1895) was a German physiologist and chemist, and the principal founder of the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology. He had discovered Yeast nuclei ...

, led to it being discredited at the time. Over 40 years later, work by David Keilin using similar equipment vindicated MacMunnn's work. MacMunn was appointed Honorary Pathologist and Physician to the General Hospital Wolverhampton in 1889. Following his difficulties in the vindication of his work MacMunn subsequently had a distinguished career as a Medical Officer in the military. His military career took him to South Africa, he was appointed Staff-Officer to the Royal Hospital Commissions during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. He was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Queens South Africa medal with three clasps. During his time in South Africa, he contracted malaria. He retired in 1909, and ill health led to his death on 18 February 1911. MacMunn was married twice, and had three children by his first wife. In 2016, the

Institute of Technology, Sligo The Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS; ) was an institute of technology, located in Sligo, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions became part of Atlantic Technological University (ATU). the institute had three f ...

named its new science building after MacMunn.

References

External links

Cityofwolverhampton.com : City Centre Plaques
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacMunn, Charles Alexander 1852 births 1911 deaths Irish military doctors Scientists from County Sligo Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish pathologists Military personnel from County Sligo Medical doctors from County Sligo People from Easky