Paul Bargehr (18 March 1889 31 December 1951) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

medical doctor 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 study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

and writer mostly known for his work treating

Hansen's disease Monster Beverage Corporation is an American beverage company that manufactures energy drinks including Monster Energy, Relentless (drink), Relentless, Reign (drink), Reign and Burn (energy drink), Burn. The company was originally founded as Ha ...

(leprosy) in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

(now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

). Although the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

researcher Kensuke Mitsuda receives credit for first developing the modern

lepromin The lepromin skin test is used to determine what type of leprosy a person is infected with. It involves the injection of a standardized extract of the inactivated "''leprosy bacillus''" (''Mycobacterium leprae'' or "Hansen's bacillus") under the sk ...

test for distinguishing between different forms of Hansen's disease, Bargehr's work was responsible for coining and popularizing its current name.

Life

Paul Bargehr was born on 18 March 1889 in

Thüringen Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany's 16 states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. He practised medicine in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

before travelling to the island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

in the

in 1920. While there, he studied and treated

, developing a modified form of intradermal

leprolin The lepromin skin test is used to determine what type of leprosy a person is infected with. It involves the injection of a standardized extract of the inactivated "''leprosy bacillus''" (''Mycobacterium leprae'' or "Hansen's bacillus") under the sk ...

test. He minced

leproma Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve dam ...

with a large amount of ''

M. leprae ''Mycobacterium leprae'' (also known as the leprosy bacillus or Hansen's bacillus) is one of the two species of bacteria that cause Hansen's disease (leprosy), a chronic but curable infectious disease that damages the peripheral nerves and targ ...

'' in water, then boiled it at 100

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

for 20 minutes and added

carbolic acid Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bon ...

at a ratio of 1:200 with the water. He called the serum thus created "

", which has remained the common name for such tests. He changed the name to avoid confusion with the

tuberculin test The Mantoux test or Mendel–Mantoux test (also known as the Mantoux screening test, tuberculin sensitivity test, Pirquet test, or PPD test for purified protein derivative) is a tool for screening for tuberculosis (TB) and for tuberculosis dia ...

for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and also to clarify that the

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

was made from

lepromatuous tissue Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve dam ...

. He was heavily decried, however, for exposing healthy subjects to the

leprosy bacillus ''Mycobacterium leprae'' (also known as the leprosy bacillus or Hansen's bacillus) is one of the two species of bacteria that cause Hansen's disease (leprosy), a chronic but curable infectious disease that damages the peripheral nerves and tar ...

in his experiments. Bargehr returned to Austria in 1928, working at the Zeileis Institute in

Gallspach Gallspach is a municipality and spa in the district of Grieskirchen in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. The center of the municipality is the market town Gallspach. It comprises also the following villages: Enzendorf, Gferedt, Niederndorf, Sch ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

. He began his own Zeileis practice in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1929 but had to close it the next year owing to debt. He completed a manuscript entitled ''New Foundations of Physics'' () in 1945, but was unable to find a publisher. He died in

on 31 December 1951. His work and correspondence are held by the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

Works

* . (German) * . (German) * . (German)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . (German) * . (German) * . * . * . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bargehr, Paul 1889 births 20th-century Austrian physicians Austrian expatriates in the Dutch East Indies 20th-century Austrian physicists 20th-century Austrian male writers 1951 deaths People from Bludenz District