Claude Bernard, a French physiologist in the nineteenth century, strove to establish experimental physiology as a medical branch and scientific field. In 1854, he started his lecture series on general physiology at the Paris Faculty of Sciences, which was continued at the National Museum of Natural History since 1869 when Bernard's chair was transferred from the Faculty to the Museum. At the Museum, Bernard titled his lecture series the "Phenomena of Life Common to Animals and Plants," which revealed the main characteristic of his general physiology. At that time, physiology was generally considered a medical science which dealt only with the human body. Bernard, on the other hand, came to have the idea that physiology could study the functions of plant, animal, and human bodies in the same manner. Bernard's lectures on general physiology had two distinct phases. At Sorbonne, general physiology was a rather speculative theoretical system. It was mainly because of the fact that he did not have a laboratory at the Faculty of Sciences. There, the lecture dealt only with animal functions, and he had no concern for plant physiology at all. After he moved to the Museum, significant changes occurred. In the new laboratory, general physiology was transformed into a truly experimental science, which dealt with both animals and plants. Protoplasm, a physiological basic unit, replaced tissue, which was basically an anatomical unit that fell short of explaining physiological phenomena. The Museum of Natural History played an important role in this transformation. At the museum, zoologists, botanists, and physiologists worked together, and the peculiar natural history tradition of the institution enabled scientists to study animals and plants at the same time. Although there existed some conflicts between experimentalists and naturalists, Bernard could wisely figure out the problem by asserting that the role of a physiologist was to disclose, by experimentation, the fundamental principles that lay behind the superficial facts of life that were already discovered by natural historians. At the Museum, Bernard could break down the distinction between the animal and plant kingdoms in the domain of experimental physiology, and it can perhaps be considered a step toward the formation of the general science of biology.
Biomedical Research/history ; France ; History, 19th Century ; Humans ; Physiology/*history

Biomedical Research ; history ; France ; Hemagglutination Tests ; history ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Philately

Allergy and Immunology ; history ; Belgium ; Biomedical Research ; history ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Immunity ; immunology

Humans ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac/history* ; Biomedical Research/history* ; Cardiology/history* ; Cardiovascular System ; China ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Publishing/history*

Humans ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac/history* ; Biomedical Research/history* ; Cardiology/history* ; Cardiovascular System ; China ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Publishing/history*

As the sciences advanced rapidly in the modern European world, outstanding achievements have been made in medicine, chemistry, biology, physiology, physics and others, which have been co-influencing each of the scientific disciplines. Accordingly, such medical and scientific phenomena began to be reflected in novels. In particular, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein includes the diverse aspects of the change and development in the medicine and science. Associated with medical and scientific information reflected in Frankenstein and Frankenstein's experiments in the text, accordingly, this research will investigate the aspects of medical and scientific development taking place in the nineteenth century in three ways. First, the medical and scientific development of the nineteenth century has been reviewed by summerizing both the information of alchemy in which Frankenstein shows his interest and the new science in general that M. Waldman introduces in the text. Second, the actual features of medical and scientific development have been examined through some examples of the experimental methods that M. Waldman implicitly uttered to Frankenstein. Third, it has been checked how the medical and scientific development is related to the main issues of mechanism and vitalism which can be explained as principles of life. Even though this research deals with the developmental process of medicine & science and origin & principles of life implied in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, its significance is that it is the interdisciplinary research focussing on how deeply medical and scientific discourse of Mary Shelley's period has been imbedded in the nineteenth century novel.
Biomedical Research/*history ; History, 19th Century ; Literature, Modern/*history ; *Medicine in Literature

Biomedical Research ; history ; trends ; China ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Periodicals as Topic ; Portraits as Topic

Proteins are major executors of life processes, carrying out essential and nonessential functions inside and outside of the cell, in species ranging from simple unicellular organisms to mammals. Thus, not surprisingly, studies of structure and function of proteins span the entire spectrum of molecular biology and modern biomedical sciences in general. Due to historical reasons, protein science research in China was isolated and limited in scope until late 1970s. In the last two decades, China has seen an outburst of research activities, government initiatives, and aggregation of human talents in protein science research. This article provides an overview of major initiatives in research funding, investment in infrastructures, and research forces for protein science research in China.
Animals ; Biomedical Research ; economics ; history ; China ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Proteins ; economics ; history ; Research Support as Topic ; Science ; economics ; history

Traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo, is used by over 80% of medical doctors in Japan. Owing to its high quality and safety, Kampo has been integrated into modern medicine, and there are 345 randomized controlled trials using Kampo in Japan as of 2010. Although there are a number of articles in top journals about basic science research, we can find only small numbers of high-quality clinical evidence. Since undergraduate education on Kampo has been established, integrative approach with the balanced combination of modern medicine and Kampo is expected to generate good clinical evidence in the near future.
Biomedical Research ; methods ; trends ; Education, Medical ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Japan ; Medicine, Kampo ; history ; trends ; Medicine, Traditional ; history ; trends ; Models, Biological

Autopsy has played a unique role in the progression of clinical medicine, medical education, epidemiology, and public health. However, the autopsy rate has been decreasing during the past several decades worldwide, and its necessity is frequently argued. Autopsy-based research in China, a country with the world's largest population, is very important for studying the spectrum and epidemiology of diseases as well as for discovering new diseases. This article summarizes the brief history of autopsy in China and analyzes the cause of its decline in recent decades by reviewing previously published papers, review articles, self-collected materials, and private correspondence. Since the first officially permitted autopsy in 1913, China witnessed the highest autopsy rate between 1950 and 1970, and since then the autopsy rate began to decline as it in other parts of the world. The main reasons for the reduction in autopsy rates in China include negligence by hospital administrators and relevant government authorities, unmotivated clinicians, helpless pathologists, unenforceable regulations and laws, and local cultures and customs.
Autopsy ; history ; statistics & numerical data ; Biomedical Research ; history ; statistics & numerical data ; China ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; History, Medieval ; Humans