Bert, Paul
Full Name: Paul Bert
Achievements: Advances in the physiology of respiration
Born: October 17, 1833; Auxerre, Yvonne, France
Died: November 11, 1886; Hanoi, Indochina (now Vietnam; Aged 53)
Field & Discipline: Science; Medicine; Physiology, Politics; Government; Diplomacy
Language: French
Father: Joseph Bert
Mother: Jeanne Henriette Massy
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Josephina Clayton
Children: Unknown
Education: College Amyot, Auxerre; Law school, Paris; Medical Faculty, Paris
Major Work:
“La pression barometrique” (“Barometric Pressure” 1878)
Life & Times:
Bert was the son of lawyer who was a local government official. At the age of twenty he went to Paris where he studied law but very soon began scientific research. He studied natural sciences from 1857 and after obtaining his degree with a thesis on animal transplantation in 1863, he worked in the laboratory of the physiologist [worked under] Bernard*.
Bernard introduced Bert to experimental physiology and to his idea of the “internal environment” of the organism. These ideas were a major influence on Bert’s own research. In the 1860’s he undertook investigations into general physiology, plant physiology and comparative anatomy and physiology, always looking to see how organs live within their environment.
He used animal transplantations as a means of studying the impact of external agents and change on organs and tissues, and he concluded that cells and tissues survived independently of any governing vital force as long as they were in a suitable environment.
He was appointed professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Bordeaux in 1866 where he studied marine biology and investigated the mechanism of death in marine fishes when they were taken from their natural environment and exposed to fresh water. His most notable contribution to plant physiology was his study of the movements of the so-called “sensitive plant” (“Mimosa pudica”) during which he discovered that its spontaneous movements depended on the differences of osmotic pressure which in turn was regulated by light and darkness.
In 1868 Bert moved to the chair of comparative physiology at the Museum of Natural History before taking succeeding Bernard to the chair of physiology at the Sorbonne in 1868. Two years later he published a paper on respiratory factors in which he analyzed the anatomical structures and physiological functions of the respiratory organs of vertebrates and invertebrates.
Bert’s work followed on studies of the pneumatic gases and respiratory mechanisms undertaken earlier by the English scientist [work related to] Davy* and the French chemist [work related to] Berthollet*. He demonstrated that the oxygen content of the blood depends on the exterior air pressure, reported on the function of nerves in the rhythm of respiration and on the respiration of diving animals. He gave his findings on the death mechanism of asphyxia and showed that true asphyxia results from lack of oxygen from carbon dioxide poisoning.
He moved on to a larger scale study of the environmental factor for organisms in his barometric investigations: how the changing atmospheric pressure acts on an organism; what the effects of low pressure are at high altitudes; how the high pressure in which divers work affect the body; the effects of high and low pressures on the blood; and the mechanism of mountain sickness. He experimented on himself in a pressure chamber and also trained balloonists and gave them oxygen bags for high altitude flights. His hypothesis that people living at high altitudes might possess more red corpuscles was proved correct in the 1890’s by a study in Peru and led to important high altitude research in the Alps.
Following on the work of [work related to] Ludwig*, Bert studied the blood gases and discovered the phenomenon of acute oxygen poisoning. He also demonstrated that lack of oxygen will suffocate, and that oxygen at high pressure is poisonous to the organism. Bert’s findings and the later work of [work related to] Cailletet* in the same area, were of immense significance for the development of aeronautics.
His investigations were interrupted by the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 which triggered Bert’s entry into politics. Bert saw education as the main means of revival and reform and he pushed through the adoption of new legislature to introduce a modern secular education; he also promoted secondary education for girls. The textbooks on natural history, zoology and physical sciences were a great success and did much to popularize science.
In 1878 he published the results of his research on respiration in his “La pression barometrique” (“Barometric Pressure”). During the 1880’s, Bert spoke in the National Assembly in support of French colonial expansion in Indochina where the natives were rebelling.
In 1886 he was appointed the first civil governor of Annam and Tonkin. In Indochina, he took steps to free the civil administration from military interference and to reconcile French and native interests. He strengthened the power of the Vietnamese emperor in Annam while in Tonkin, he introduced political and social reforms which drew popular support. He also established an educational academy in Tonkin and founded many schools.
Bert died in Hanoi in the year of his arrival. His death was greeted with triumph by the English anti-vivisectionist [psychically attacked by] Kingsford* who believed that she had caused it by thought waves.
Assessment: Bert was a true exponent of experimental physiology and his barometric investigations was a valuable contribution to twentieth century ventures by mankind into space and under the oceans.
Oneliner: Paul Bert, physiologist and discoverer of the “bends”
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
- Encyclopedia Britannica.