Oskar Minkowski (; 13 January 1858 – 18 July 1931) was a German physician and physiologist who held a professorship at the University of Breslau and is most famous for his research on

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 ...

. He was the brother of the mathematician Hermann Minkowski and father of astrophysicist Rudolph Minkowski.

Life and career

Born in Aleksotas,

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, of Jewish origin,Minkowski biography
History.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk (1909-01-12). Retrieved on 2014-07-23. but later converted to Christianity. Minkowski was the son of Rachel (née Taubmann) and Lewin Boruch Minkowski (1825–1884), a first-guild merchant, who subsidized construction of the choral synagogue in Kovno.

Discovery of the role of pancreas in diabetes

Minkowski worked with Josef von Mering on the study of

at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

. Their landmark study in 1889 in dogs induced diabetes by removing their pancreas. It was Minkowski who performed the operation and made the crucial link to recognize that the symptoms of the treated dogs were due to diabetes. Thus they were able to indicate that the

pancreas The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the Digestion, digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a ...

contained regulators to control

blood sugar The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood. The body tightly regulates blood glucose levels as a part of metabolic homeostasis. For a 70 kg (1 ...

; they also provided a model for the study of diabetes. Their work led other doctors and scientists to pursue further research on the relation of the pancreas to diabetes, and ultimately resulted in the discovery of insulin as a treatment for the disease. *Joseph von Mering, Oskar Minkowski: Diabetes mellitus nach Pankreasextirpation. Centralblatt für klinische Medicin, Leipzig, 1889, 10 (23): 393–394. Archiv für experimentelle Patholgie und Pharmakologie, Leipzig, 1890, 26: 37. It begins with,'' After removal of the pancreas dogs get diabetes. It starts sometime after the operation and will persist for weeks continuously until their death...'' Oskar Minkowski 2012 Lithuanian stamp

Minkowski Prize

In recognition of the discovery by Minkowski the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annually awards the Minkowski Prize for outstanding original work of a younger investigator in diabetes research.Minkowski Prize
easd.org

References

External links

Biography

1858 births 1931 deaths University of Strasbourg alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg German diabetologists Lithuanian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the German Empire {{Germany-biologist-stub

Life and career

Discovery of the role of pancreas in diabetes

Minkowski Prize

See also

References

External links