William Bayliss
Encyclopedia
Sir William Maddock Bayliss (2 May 1860 – 27 August 1924) was an English
physiologist.
He was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and gained a B.Sc from London University. He graduated MA and DSc in physiology from Wadham College, Oxford
.
Bayliss and Ernest Henry Starling discovered the peptide hormone secretin
and peristalsis
of the intestines. The Bayliss Effect
is named after him. He was also involved in the Brown Dog affair
, successfully suing Stephen Coleridge for libel over accusations he made about Bayliss's vivisection
work.
In 1893 Bayliss married Gertrude Ellen Starling, the sister of Ernest Starling.
Bayliss was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1903. He jointly delivered their Croonian lecture
in 1904 and was awarded their Royal Medal
in 1911 and their Copley Medal
in 1919. He was knighted for his contribution to medicine in 1922.
Bayliss died in London in 1924.
The Bayliss and Starling Society
was founded in 1979 as a forum for scientists with research interests in central and autonomic peptide function.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
physiologist.
He was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and gained a B.Sc from London University. He graduated MA and DSc in physiology from Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
.
Bayliss and Ernest Henry Starling discovered the peptide hormone secretin
Secretin
Secretin is a hormone that controls the secretions into the duodenum, and also separately, water homeostasis throughout the body. It is produced in the S cells of the duodenum in the crypts of Lieberkühn...
and peristalsis
Peristalsis
Peristalsis is a radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles which propagates in a wave down the muscular tube, in an anterograde fashion. In humans, peristalsis is found in the contraction of smooth muscles to propel contents through the digestive tract. Earthworms use a similar...
of the intestines. The Bayliss Effect
Bayliss Effect
A special manifestation of the myogenic tone is the myogenic response in the vasculature. The Bayliss effect in vascular smooth muscles cells is a response to stretch. This is especially relevant in arterioles of the body...
is named after him. He was also involved in the Brown Dog affair
Brown Dog affair
The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Edwardian England from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish women activists, pitched battles between medical students and the police, police protection for...
, successfully suing Stephen Coleridge for libel over accusations he made about Bayliss's vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
work.
In 1893 Bayliss married Gertrude Ellen Starling, the sister of Ernest Starling.
Bayliss was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1903. He jointly delivered their Croonian lecture
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Lectures are prestigious lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow one lectureship at both the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians...
in 1904 and was awarded their Royal Medal
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
in 1911 and their Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
in 1919. He was knighted for his contribution to medicine in 1922.
Bayliss died in London in 1924.
The Bayliss and Starling Society
Bayliss and Starling Society
The Bayliss and Starling Society was founded in 1979 as a forum for research scientists with specific interests in the chemistry, physiology and function of central and autonomic peptides....
was founded in 1979 as a forum for scientists with research interests in central and autonomic peptide function.
External links
- Short biography, bibliography, and links on digitized sources in the Virtual LaboratoryVirtual LaboratoryThe online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life...
of the Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceMax Planck Institute for the History of ScienceThe Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin was established in March 1994. Its research is primarily devoted to a theoretically oriented history of science, principally of the natural sciences, but with methodological perspectives drawn from the cognitive sciences and from... - The Bugle
- Biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceMax Planck Institute for the History of ScienceThe Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin was established in March 1994. Its research is primarily devoted to a theoretically oriented history of science, principally of the natural sciences, but with methodological perspectives drawn from the cognitive sciences and from...
- Bayliss and Starling Society Homepage