Otto Loewi and the chemical transmission of vagus stimulation in the heart.

摘要

Otto Loewi (1873-1961) (Fig. 1) was born in Frankfurt/ Main, Germany. After attending school in his native town he started to study medicine at the University of Munich in 1891 and completed his studies at the University of Strasbourg in 1896. He then took a course in inorganic chemistry in Frankfurt and spent a few months in the biochemical institute of Franz Hofmeister in Strasbourg. During 1897 and 1898, he worked at the City Hospital in Frankfurt. He became frustrated by the lack of therapy in the treatment of tuberculosis and pneumonia and decided to do research in basic medical science, in particular, in pharmacology.