Mering

MERING Joseph (Joseph Mering; 1849-1908), a renowned physician and researcher; studied in Bonn, Greifswald, Strasbourg, graduated from medical faculty in 1873, from 1877 became an assistant at the clinic of Freriks in Berlin, from 1879 Privatdozent of physiological chemistry under Hoppe-Seyler, from 1886 extraordinary professor, in 1897 director of the medical policlinic in Halle, in 1900 after the death of T. Weber became director of the medical (therapeutic) clinic. Of Mering's scientific works, one gave impetus to the famous research of Minkowski and brought both world fame, namely the experimental research proving that removal of the pancreas leads to the development of pancreatic diabetes (Zentralbl. i. klin. Med., 1889, № 5; Arch. f. exp. Path., B. XXVI, p. 271, 1890). This was not a random discovery; it is part of a whole cycle of research on the formation of glycogen in the liver, on the pathways of sugar outflow from the intestinal cavity (1875), on the transformation of starch and glycogen under the influence of diastase, on saliva, the pancreas and rennet enzyme, on the influence of diastatic enzymes on starch, dextrin and maltose (1877), on the excretion of sugar after the introduction of floridzin (1885), on the acids of gastric juice, etc. In addition, M. performed a series of outstanding works in pharmacology and toxicology (nitrobenzene, amylene hydrate, potassium chlorate, lipanin, chloral hydrate, phosphorus, mercury, iron thiocyanate, etc.). Furthermore, M. succeeded in artificially causing osteomalacia. He also established the influence of food intake on the course of oxidative processes. Under the editorship of M., a large collective course on internal diseases was published («Lehrbuch der inneren Krankheiten», 1st ed., Jena, 1901), which was reprinted many times (15th ed., 1925, under the editorship of L. Krell) and translated into many languages (4th Russian ed., v. I-III, L., 1926). Among Mering's students are Baumann, Zuntz, Tiefelder, Minkowski and others.