Executive Director EASD/EFSD 1987–2015, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Abstract
Claude Bernard invented metabolic research. He was born in 1813 in the small village of St. Julien en Beaujolais near Villefranche-sur-Saône. When he worked as an apprentice in a pharmacy in Lyon, he dreamt of becoming a writer, but finally started to study medicine in Paris. The beginning of his career was difficult, his salary as a researcher was miserable, and only an arranged marriage enabled him to dedicate his time to science. However, he was later appointed Professor at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France. His most important discovery was the unveiling of carbohydrate metabolism – he published this major discovery in 1848 “about the origin of sugar.” In 1855 he discovered and “baptized” glycogen. His book Introduction into Experimental Medicine (1865) was his intellectual masterpiece. Claude Bernard explained the principles of biomedical research, and much of the text is still relevant today. His remarks regarding pharmacotherapy can still serve as an introduction to today’s textbooks on “evidence-based medicine.”
© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel
On July 12, 1813, in the castle of Trachenberg, Silesia, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, and Bernadotte, later Karl XIV of Sweden, met and agreed on the “Trachenberg Plan” against Napoleon Bonaparte, an agreement that would eventually conclude with the “Battle of the Nations” in Leipzig, which ushered in the end of an era.
That same day, a man who started a new epoch in science was born. In the village of Saint-Julien near Villefranche-sur-Saône in the Beaujolais region, Pierre Jean-François Bernard appeared before the mayor and declared that between 3 and 4 o’clock in the morning of that day there was born to him, by his wife Jeanne Saulnier, an infant to whom he wanted to give the name Claude. He was their only son; a daughter was born later.
Claude Bernard grew up in a small old house which can today be visited by tourists (Fig. 1). The priest of the parish recommended the boy to be admitted to the Jesuit College of Villefranche, which he attended until the age of 18 years. Here he was taught Latin and French, but no other modern language. During his later life he always relied on the assistance of others to translate publications into French. He himself published exclusively in French, which in those days was not an obstacle for the career of a French scientist.
Fig. 1. The house where Claude Bernard was born (photo Dr. V. Jörgens).
When he was 18 years old the family could no longer afford to keep their son at school. In January 1832, he found employment in a pharmacy in Lyon where the pharmacist sold a “remedy” containing up to 60 different drugs including opium. Claude was astounded when he noticed that the pharmacist took a lot of liberty with the formula of the drug which was considered to cure nearly everything. This experience must have awoken, for the first time, his objections against “empirical” medicine.
In Lyon, Claude frequently went to the Théatre des Célestines, where operettas and comedies were presented. He even composed a musical comedy himself entitled “La rose du Rhone” which, apparently, had some success – he earned 100 francs from it. Sadly this “Rose du Rhone” was never printed. Following this achievement, Claude embarked on a bigger project, a classical tragedy with the title “Anne de Bretagne.” He decided to leave the pharmacy in Lyon and travelled to Paris with dreams of a dazzling career as an author. As for the journey itself, it was sluggish, by horse-drawn carriage. Times were changing however, and just a decade later he would be able to take the train to his hometown.
A Failed Career as a Writer
In 1834, Claude Bernard arrived in Paris with his “Anne de Bretagne” and asked Saint Marc Girardin, writer and professor at the Sorbonne, for advice. Girardin told him, firmly, that he did not have any talent as a dramatist and that he should study something to support himself – why not medicine, since he already had acquired some knowledge in pharmacology? Claude Bernard nevertheless kept the manuscript “Anne de Bretagne” and gave it to a friend 1.5 years before his death, saying that he may publish it, but not until at least 5 years after Bernard’s death. A reprint of the piece is for sale in the Claude Bernard Museum in St. Julien, while the original can be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Fortunately, no theatre audience ever had to endure this tragedy. The widow of Claude Bernard opposed the posthumous publication of the piece. This minor act was possibly her only valuable contribution towards the reputation of her husband.
A Difficult Career Start
In autumn 1834, when he was 21 years old, Claude Bernard entered the Medical School in Paris. He was not a particularly outstanding student. Only the anatomy course unveiled his excellent manual talent. At this time there was no specific course on physiology. The leading researcher in this field in France was Prof. Magendie (1783–1855), who published a renowned textbook on physiology (Fig. 2). Magendie had the Chair of Physiology and a small laboratory at the Collège de France. At the same time Magendie headed a clinical department at Hôtel Dieu Hospital. When he was an intern at Hôtel Dieu, Claude noticed that Magendie was the only physician who was fighting against “bleeding” as the standard treatment of pneumonia. Magendie’s opinion was in contradiction with all textbooks, therefore the physicians in his department used to bleed the patients suffering from pneumonia once Magendie had left the ward.
Magendie was quite a boorish character. It took him some time to appoint Claude Bernard to his laboratory but, one day, while looking at Claude Bernard at the other end of a dissection table he shouted: “Hey, look here, I’ll take you as my préparateur at the Collège de France.”
Nevertheless, his salary as an assistant of Magendie was not sufficient for living and hence Bernard, together with a friend, opened a private laboratory where paying students could observe physiological experiments. This business model failed desperately. Everything seemed to be wrong. In 1844 he defended a thesis to become an agrégé – comparable to an assistant professor or the German Privatdozent – but he was unsuccessful. Another disappointment quickly followed in 1844 when his first application for membership in the Academy of Medicine was declined. At this point Claude Bernard felt like giving up his research career and returning home to practice medicine in his beloved Beaujolais region.
Fig. 2. “It is impossible to say what the role is of the liquid of the pancreas.” From the textbook on physiology by Magendie, 1817.
An “Arranged” Marriage
However, his friends found a solution for Claude Bernard’s chronic financial problems – a wife with a substantial dowry. In 1845 Bernard married Marie Françoise “Fanny” Martin, the daughter of a rich Parisian physician, for convenience. Her dowry served as an income for the young family and was even used to finance Claude’s research. In the marriage contract the bride’s dowry amounted to 60,000 francs, equivalent at the time to 180,000 L of wine! The couple had 4 children, 2 sons, both of whom died very young, and 2 daughters, who went on to join their mother in her political fight against “vivisection” led by catholic fundamentalists. The couple separated and finally divorced on August
