1914 INVENTION OF HEMODIALYSIS. On the removal of diffusible substances from the circulating blood of living animals by dialysis, TOGETHER WITH On the removal of diffusible substances from the circulating blood of living animals by dialysis. II. Some constituents of the blood by Abel, John J., Rowntree, Leonard G. and Turner, B.B - 1914: J. Pharm. Exp. Therap.

1914. First edition, offprint issues.

1914 RARE OFFPRINTS BY PIONEERING AMERICAN PHARMACOLOGIST JOHN J ABEL ON DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL HEMODIALYSIS.

Two offprints in original printed wrappers: 1. On the removal of diffusible substances from the circulating blood of living animals by means of dialysis. Offprint from J. Pharm. Exp. Therap. 5, no. 3 (Jan. 1914). 275-316pp, figures; 2. On the removal of diffusible substances from the circulating blood of living animals by dialysis. II. Some constituents of the blood. Offprint from J. Pharm. Exp. Therap. 5, no. 6 (July 1914). 611-623pp. Together 2 parts. 18x26 cm.

JOHN JACOB ABEL (1857 – 1938) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist. He established the pharmacology department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1893, and then became America's first full-time professor of pharmacology. During his time at Hopkins, he made several important medical advancements, especially in the field of hormone extraction. In addition to his laboratory work, he founded several significant scientific journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Finishing his time in Europe, which included studies with Carl Ludwig, Abel returned to the University of Michigan as the chair of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. William Osler of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine asked Abel to come to the school and accept a Professorship of Pharmacology. At Johns Hopkins, Abel performed his most groundbreaking research and held the position of chair of the department until he retired at the age of 75 in 1932. Together with L.G. Rowntree and B.B. Turner, Abel devised what they called a "vividiffusion" apparatus, consisting of a series of tubes surrounded by fluid. They first demonstrated the apparatus at the Physiological Congress in Groningen in 1914. By allowing arterial blood to enter at one end of the connection, and later return to circulation through the venous connection after dialysis, they were able to demonstrate the existence of free amino acids in blood. By isolating these amino acids from blood circulation, Abel conducted various subsequent researches on the structure of proteins in the blood. Not only did Abel use the apparatus for his research work, he also realized the great clinical potential such dialysis machine would have on managing the damaging effects of renal failure. The vividiffusion apparatus Abel devised is the precursor to the modern day dialysis machine. He summarized his work in 2 papers published in 1914, On the Removal of Diffusible Substances from the Circulating Blood by Means of Dialysis (offered here). GARRISON-MORTON No. 741.2 .The second paper describes how "the new method enables the investigator to accumulate the various non-protein constituents of the blood in any desired amount" (p. 611). To prevent blood clotting in his experimental animals, Abel used an anticoagulant obtained from leeches (hirudin); however, this was difficult to prepare and unsuitable for human use. Heparin, an anticoagulant occurring naturally in mammals, was discovered in 1916, but the use of dialysis as a clinical tool had to wait until 1937, when methods were developed to prepare large quantities of purified heparin extract.