Adolf Eugen Fick

Adolf Eugen Fick (3 September 1829 – 21 August 1901) was a German-born physician and physiologist.

For the ophthalmologist, see Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick.
Adolf Fick
Adolf Fick (1829–1901)
Born3 September 1829
Kassel, Electorate of Hesse
Died21 August 1901(1901-08-21) (aged 71)
Blankenberge, Flanders
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Marburg
Known forFick's laws of diffusion
Fick principle
Direct Fick method
Scientific career
FieldsPhysiology
Biophysics
InstitutionsUniversity of Zurich
University of Würzburg
Doctoral advisorFranz Ludwig Fick[1]
Doctoral studentsJohann Jakob Müller[1]
InfluencesCarl Ludwig
Notes
He is the brother of Franz Ludwig Fick. He is the uncle of Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick who invented the contact lens.[2]

Early life and education

Fick began his work in the formal study of mathematics and physics before realising an aptitude for medicine. He then earned his doctorate in medicine from the University of Marburg in 1851. As a fresh medical graduate, he began his work as a prosector.[3]

Career

In 1855, he introduced Fick's laws of diffusion, which govern the diffusion of a gas across a fluid membrane. In 1870, he was the first to measure cardiac output, using what is now called the Fick principle.

Fick managed to double-publish his law of diffusion, as it applied equally to physiology and physics. His work led to the development of the direct Fick method for measuring cardiac output.

Anecdotal

Fick's nephew, Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick, invented the contact lens.[2]

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References
  1. Adolf Eugen Fick at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  2. The "Kontaktbrille" of Adolf Eugen Fick (1887), accessed 20 April 2010
  3. The Virtual Laboratory: Fick, Adolf Eugen, accessed 5 February 2006
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