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Vasopressor activity of the adrenal gland — Oliver and Schäfer

1894 AD · Transmission: Disputed
MedicineDiscoveryBritish

George Oliver and Edward Albert Schäfer demonstrated that extracts of adrenal medulla produce a powerful rise in blood pressure when injected into animals. Their work, presented to the Physiological Society in 1894, is the first systematic description of the physiological activity of what would later be identified as adrenaline. Cybulski had independently reached the same observation in 1895 and acknowledged Oliver and Schäfer's priority.

InstitutionUniversity College London
Historical regionLondon, Great Britain
Primary sourceOliver, G., Schäfer, E.A. — "The Physiological Effects of Extracts of the Suprarenal Capsules". Journal of Physiology, 18(3):230–276 (1895). DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.1895.sp000564
Secondary sourceBennett, M.R. — "One hundred years of adrenaline: the discovery of autoreceptors". Clinical Autonomic Research 9(3):145–159 (1999)
Original languageEnglish
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