Richard Lewisohn
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Richard Lewisohn (July 12, 1875 in Hamburg – August 11, 1961 in New York) was a German-American surgeon. At Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, he developed procedures that made
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...
practical.


Life and career

Lewisohn was born to
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
parents in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and was educated at the local Gymnasium from where he entered medical school in
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
in 1893. As was typical for German medical students, he attended several different medical schools, before receiving his doctorate from the
University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
in 1899 with a thesis on malignant kidney tumors. He then served for two years as an assistant to
Karl Weigert Karl Weigert, Carl Weigert (19 March 1845 in Münsterberg in Silesia – 5 August 1904 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German Jewish pathologist. His nephew was Fritz Weigert and his cousin was Paul Ehrlich. He received his education at the un ...
at the Senckenberg Institute in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. In 1904 he became an assistant to Geheimrat Czerny in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
. In 1906 he emigrated to New York, where he became a gastroenterologist and surgeon; from 1928 to 1936 he was chief of the general surgical service at Mount Sinai.


Scientific career


Blood transfusion

Following early speculation and its use in animal transfusion, in April 1914 Belgian physician
Albert Hustin Albert Hustin (1882–1967) was a Belgian medical doctor. Hustin was born in Ethe and died in Uccle (Uccle Brussels – Belgium). In 1914, he was the first person to successfully practice non-direct blood transfusions with sodium citrate used a ...
used
sodium citrate Sodium citrate may refer to any of the sodium salts of citric acid (though most commonly the third): * Monosodium citrate * Disodium citrate * Trisodium citrate The three forms of salt are collectively known by the E number E331. Applications ...
to prevent donated blood from clotting during transfusion.
Luis Agote Luis Agote (September 22, 1868 – November 12, 1954) was an Argentine physician and researcher. He was the first to perform a non-direct blood transfusion using sodium citrate as an anticoagulant. The procedure took place in Rawson hospital i ...
had also used a citrate method at Buenos Aires on 14 November 1914. Working independently, Lewisohn's contribution, in 1915, was to determine the optimal concentration of sodium citrate for preserving blood products without inducing toxicity (0.2% for transfusions not exceeding 5g). Correct use of sodium citrate made it possible to preserve blood products for longer and longer periods of time allowing donor and donee to be geographically separate. His research was put into use during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
though it was only introduced to British medical services in 1917 (by
Oswald Robertson Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...
).


Surgery

In 1922, he convinced his colleague
Albert Berg Albert Berg (April 16, 1864 – March 5, 1945) was an American football player, coach, teacher, and an advocate, writer and editor on issues of concern to the deaf. Berg was rendered deaf as the result of a childhood bout of spinal meningitis. ...
to perform the first subtotal
gastrectomy A gastrectomy is a partial or total surgical removal of the stomach. Indications Gastrectomies are performed to treat stomach cancer and perforations of the stomach wall. For severe duodenal ulcers, it may be necessary to remove the lower ...
for
peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...
in the United States. He had traveled previously to Hans von Haberer in Innsbruck, Austria, where the method had already been applied and where he became familiar with the surgical techniques. Following the successful application at Mount Sinai, the technique spread to the rest of the United States for ulcers resistant to other treatment. Lewisohn was also a contemporary of Alexis Moschcowitz and his successor as chief of the general surgical service at Mount Sinai. In 1937, Lewisohn retired from active surgery and became a consulting surgeon. He focused his time on cancer research, and was "the first to define the significance of
folic acid Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...
in the biology of cancer" and was "among the first to use folic acid antagonists clinically". He spent approximately ten years thus engaged, before retiring more completely, only to re-enter the world of medical research in 1954, to oversee and the creation of a new cell research laboratory at Mount Sinai, made possible by a large donation.


Honours

In 1955 he received the American Association of Blood Banks' Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award. In January 1959 he became an honorary fellow of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...
, having been a fellow of the
American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...
since 1916. Lewisohn was also a Fellow of the
American Gastroenterological Association The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is a medical association of gastroenterologists. Approximately 16,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization. Overview The American Gastroenterological Association is a prof ...
, and served on the
American Board of Surgery The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge. Surgeons cert ...
.


Personal life

In 1911, Lewisohn married Constance Strauss. They had three children, two of whom survived to adulthood.


Selected works

* * (Reprinted from the original 1915 article.)


References


External links


Science Heroes: Lewisohn, Richard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewisohn, Richard 1875 births 1961 deaths American surgeons Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States 19th-century German Jews German surgeons Blood donation University of Freiburg alumni Fellows of the American Gastroenterological Association