Olav Torgersen (25 September 1907 – 1978) was a Norwegian

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. 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 the context of modern medical treatme ...

. He was born in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

as a son of wholesaler Carl Torgersen (1871–1950) and Kristine Torgersen (1874–1910). He finished his secondary education in 1926 and graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

with the cand.med. degree in 1934. In 1939 he married colonel's daughter Ada Jørgensen (1913–1967). He substituted for the district physician in

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

from 1934 to 1935, before working at the

Norwegian Radium Hospital Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet () is one of the four campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, and is dedicated to cancer treatment. This part of the hospital is the most specialized hospital in Norway for cancer therapy and ...

from 1936 and the *,

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

from 1938. In 1940 he took his

dr.med. Doctor Medicinae, also spelled Doctor Medicinæ and abbreviated Dr. Med., is a higher doctorate, doctoral degree (a research doctorate) in medicine awarded by universities in Denmark and formerly in Norway. It is officially translated as Doctor ...

degree with the thesis ''Om binyrenes variable struktur og deres motstandsevne mot røntgenbestråling'', about x-rays to the

adrenal gland The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer adrenal corte ...

s. He was hired at

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 20 ...

in 1940, and served at the university as a

prosector A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and ...

from 1943. In 1948 he was promoted to professor. His special field was

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross examination, macroscopic, Histopathology, microscopic, biochemical, immu ...

. He edited the journal '' Acta Pathologica et Microbiologica Scandinavica'', and was a fellow of the

International Academy of Pathology International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Chronic Degenerative Diseases. From 1966 to 1972 he was the deputy chairman of , which since a 1998 merger is known as the

Norwegian Cancer Society The Norwegian Cancer Society () is a non-profitmaking organisation in Norway. History It was established as in 1938, and took the current name when it merged with in 1948. Its purpose is to help patients with cancer, increase awareness of ca ...

. He was instrumental in the 1973 establishment of the Janus Serum Bank, a collaborative cancer biobank. He resided in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

. He died in 1978.

References

1907 births 1978 deaths People from Kristiansand University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian pathologists 20th-century Norwegian physicians {{Norway-academic-bio-stub