Frederick William Pavy (29 May 1829 – 19 September 1911) was a British

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

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

, and the discoverer of the Pavy disease, a cyclic or recurrent physiologic

albuminuria Albuminuria is a pathological condition of elevated albumin protein in the urine (often measured as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of >30 milligrams of albumin per 1 gram of creatinine per day). It is a type of proteinuria, and is the most com ...

Life

Family vault of Frederick William Pavy in Highgate Cemetery

Pavy was born in

Wroughton Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 road, A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junc ...

and educated at Merchant Taylors' School. He entered

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

in 1847 and worked with Richard Bright in the study of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

. He graduated as M.B. after five years from the University of London and M.D. the following year, then became Lecturer of Anatomy at Guy's in 1854 and of Physiology in 1856. In 1859, he was appointed Assistant Physician at Guy's and full Physician in 1871. He was made President of the Pathological Society of London in 1893 and President of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London in 1900. He delivered the

Goulstonian Lectures The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest. By his ...

in 1862 and the

Croonian Lecture The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians. Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a singl ...

in 1878 and 1894 to the Royal College of Physicians. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1863. He had married Julia Oliver in London in 1855. They had two daughters, Florence Julia (1856–1902) and Maud (born 1862, predeceased her mother). Florence Pavy married Rev. Sir Borradaile Savory in 1881. Pavy died on 19 September 1911 and was buried in a family vault on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

Diabetes

Pavy was a leading expert in

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and spent almost 20 years trying to disprove

Claude Bernard Claude Bernard (; 12 July 1813 – 10 February 1878) was a French physiologist. I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". He originated the term ''milieu intérieur'' and the associated c ...

's theory of the

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. It is the main storage form of glucose in the human body. Glycogen functions as one of three regularly used forms ...

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

metabolic cycle. His 1862 paper "Researches on the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes" was, for many years, the definitive guide to the condition.Algeo M, ''Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk was America's Favorite Sport'', Chicago Review Press, 2014. Pavy studied carbohydrate metabolism and dietetic treatment for diabetes.Furdell, Elizabeth Lane. (2009). ''Fatal Thirst: Diabetes in Britain Until Insulin''. Brill. pp. 138-139. In 1873, Pavy authored ''A Treatise on Food and Dietetics,'' which recommended almonds and nuts as bread substitutes, and promoted a

low-carbohydrate diet Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet (nutrition), diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and pro ...

to treat diabetes. His diet allowed all kinds of butcher's meat (except liver), cheese, eggs, fish and some green vegetables. All sugar was forbidden, including all kinds of fruit, pasta, and potatoes but he allowed spirits and wines that had not been sweetened.

Selected publications

''A Treatise on the Function of Digestion''
(1869)
''Researches on the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes''
(1869)
''A Treatise on Food and Dietetics''
(1874)
''The Physiology of the Carbohydrates''
(1894)
''On Carbohydrate Metabolism''
(1906)

Life

Diabetes

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading