User:PSYCHREL/Warren Plimpton Lombard

Warren Plimpton Lombard (born May 29, 1855 in West Newton, Massachusetts; died July 13, 1939 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) was an American physiologist.

Life
Warren Plimpton Lombard was the son of Israel and Mary Ann (Plimpton) Lombard. His ancestors on both sides were among the early settlers in the New England states. He received his education in the public schools of Boston and Newton. He entered Harvard College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1878. Three years later, he received his Doctor of Medicine from the Harvard Medical School.

Based on the advice of Henry Pickering Bowditch, the then Dean of the Medical School, Lombard initially went to Weimar to learn the German language and then spent two years in Leipzig, where he worked under Carl Ludwig on spinal muscle reflexes in frogs. Using a sophisticated apparatus he had developed with the assistance of Ludwig's assistants, which could record the contractions of up to fifteen muscles simultaneously, this apparatus became known as Lombard's harp. Upon his return from Leipzig in 1885, no suitable position was available, and he worked as an assistant to John Green Curtis in his laboratory in New York. Curtis paid him from his own pocket. Lombard dedicated a year to research at Harvard and later at Johns Hopkins University. He then received an assistant position in physiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. In 1889, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Physiology at Clark University.

When Clark University faced financial difficulties, William R. Harper from the newly established University of Chicago took advantage of this situation to recruit professors. Victor C. Vaughan from the University of Michigan attracted Lombard with the promise of lower living expenses in Ann Arbor and a salary of $2200, as well as excellent laboratories. Lombard accepted this offer.

In 1892, he became a Professor of Physiology and Histology at the University of Michigan. This title was converted to Professor of Physiology in 1898.

In 1898, he traveled to Europe with $500 to purchase medical equipment and brought back a kymograph that could record heartbeats and respiration. Lombard conducted his experiments with the assistance of individuals such as Wilbur Pardon Bowen and George O. Highley. He also offered Carl J. Wiggers $600 per annum to teach dental students as part of his endeavors.

In March 1889, Lombard spent three weeks in the physiological laboratory of the University of Turin with Angelo Mosso. There, he made progress with his experiments on the effect of fatigue on voluntary muscle movements. He presented the results of his research at the Congress of Physiologists in September 1889 in Basel.

Lombard frequently published his contributions in scientific journals, such as:


 * Archiv für Anatomie and Physiologie,
 * The American Journal of Psychology,
 * The American Journal of the Medical Sciences,
 * The Journal of Physiology,
 * The American Journal of Physiology.

He also wrote "General Physiology of Muscle and Nerve" for the "An American Textbook of Physiology" in 1896, and the article on "Electrotonus" for the "Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences" in 1900.

In the October 1907 issue of the American Journal of Physiology, Warren Lombard and F. M. Abbott published a paper titled "The Mechanical Effects Produced by the Contraction of the Individual Muscles of the Thigh of the Frog." Lombard and Abbott attempted to explain how the muscles on the front and back of the thigh worked simultaneously when a person rose from a seated position. They analyzed the actions of twenty-two muscles of the thigh and hip in their research.

In 1910/11, he took a sabbatical year and visited Maximilian von Frey in Würzburg, whom he knew from his studies in Leipzig. During this time, Carl Wiggers took over the institute. Lombard provided him with 2/3 of his own salary, which amounted to $3,000 per annum. In Würzburg, he discovered a method for observing the capillaries of human skin and measured blood pressure in arterioles and capillaries. Von Frey was working on determining sensory points ("spots") that specifically respond to touch, pressure, pain, as well as warmth and cold.

He was one of the seventeen men who participated in the founding meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS) in 1887. He held various roles within the society from 1893 to 1911, including Treasurer, before becoming the eighth President of the society from 1919 to 1920. In 1920, the first international congress since 1913 was held in Paris, but to the displeasure of many Americans, German and Austrian physiologists were excluded.

At the meeting of the American Physiological Society in Minneapolis in December 1917, Lombard and Otis Cope presented their research findings related to the systole and diastole in connection with a man's pulse.

He, together with Vaugham, the Dean of the Medical Faculty, brought the Michigan Medical School to great renown and a good reputation beyond state borders.

Lombard's research includes studies on knee phenomena, muscle weakness, blood pressure, and metabolism. He was primarily known for his ability to develop new techniques and devices.

He was a member of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as the University's research association. Additionally, he was a corresponding member of the Societe de Biologie and an associated member of the Societe Royale des Sciences Medicales et Naturelles in Brussels. Furthermore, he was a member of the Michigan State Medical Society and the Red Cross in Ann Arbor.

In addition to his medical work, he had a keen interest in art and, during his retirement, devoted himself to etchings, including those from his summer residence on Monhegan Island. His works were also exhibited in solo exhibitions in New York, Chicago, and Detroit.

He bequeathed his extensive medical library, including collections of journals, to the university.

On June 21, 1883, Lombard married Caroline Cook. The marriage did not result in any children.

Works

 * The effect of fatigue on voluntary muscular contractions. "Reprint from the American journal of psychology, January, 1890."
 * On the nature of the knee-jerk (Patellar Ligament). Assistant in Physiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York Reprinted from: Journal of Physiology, v. 10, no. 1–2 1889
 * Directions for laboratory work in physiology Publisher George Wahr, Ann Arbor, 1906

Literature

 * Horace W. Davenport: Not Just Any Medical School. The Science, Practice, and Teaching of Medicine at the University of Michigan, 1850-1941. Publisher: University of Michigan Press 1999. ISBN 978-0-472-11076-6

Weblinks

 * Warren P. Lombard papers 1877-1939. Repository: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
 * Years at Michigan: 1892 – 1923
 * Nachruf “The Michigan Alumnus 503” – An Appreciation by Wilfred B. Shaw, '04, Director of Alumni Relations
 * Geschichte der Medical School – (engl.)
 * Warren P. Lombard Biography englisch