Hendrik Zwaardemaker ( – ) was a Dutch scientist who invented the
olfactometer in 1888.
From 1897 to 1927 he was professor of Experimental
Physiology
Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
at the
University of Utrecht. In 1903 he became member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to his work on the
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditio ...
of
smell, he also conducted research on the human
heart
The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
. He found that salts of
potassium
Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...
and other
radioactive elements stimulated the heart.
His major work was "Die Physiologie des Geruchs" (Physiologie of Olfaction), it appeared in 1895.
Zwaardemaker Pairs
An important contribution of Zwaardemaker's studies is the concept of odor conjugates. Zwaardemaker discovered that certain odors could be prevented from detection by smell senses when mixed with various
essential oils. These combination of odors are referred to as Zwaardemaker Pairs, (or Z-pairs).
References
19th-century Dutch inventors
Dutch physiologists
1857 births
1930 deaths
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Scientists from Haarlem
Academic staff of Utrecht University
19th-century Dutch scientists
20th-century Dutch scientists
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