Medicine: 1908

1) Ehrlich, Paul pronounced AYR lihk, (1854-1915), a German bacteriologist, founded chemotherapy and showed that certain dye injections cure certain tropical diseases. He discovered the compound Salvarsan (arsphenamine), a remedy for syphilis, which he described in 1910. Salvarsan is also called "606" because it was the 606th compound that Ehrlich tested.

Contributor: Audrey B. Davis, Ph.D., Former Curator of Medical Sciences, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

2) With Robert Koch, Ehrlich contributed to our knowledge of the tuberculosis germ. Ehrlich founded modern hematology by developing techniques for staining the various types of blood corpuscles. He also worked at increasing immunity to disease, including the development of diphtheria antitoxin. Ehrlich developed methods of research on cancerous tissues. In addition, he produced strains of cancerous tumors that are still used in experiments with cancer-fighting substances. Ehrlich shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his research on the potency of serum preparations. Ehrlich was born on March 14, 1854, in Strehlen, Silesia, near Wroclaw. He died on Aug. 20, 1915.

Contributor: Dale C. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medical History, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.