Axel Holst (September 6, 1860 in Christiania (present day Oslo) – 1931 in Oslo) was a Norwegian professor of hygiene and bacteriology at the University of Oslo, known for his contributions to beriberi and scurvy. September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Depending on context, Christiania can refer to: Christiania, capital of Norway – what Oslo was called from 1624 to 1877, named after King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway; subsequently, the city was called Kristiania (q. ... County Oslo NO-03 District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ... The University of Oslo (in Norwegian Universitetet i Oslo, in Latin Universitas Osloensis) was founded in 1811 as Universitas Regia Fredericiana (the Royal Frederick University, in Norwegian Det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet). ... Italic textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold text Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency; its symptoms include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception (Wernickes encephalopathy), weakness and pain in the limbs, and periods of irregular heart rate. ... Scurvy (N.Lat. ...

Holst gained his medical degree in 1884 and gained his doctors degree in 1892 involving the bacterium streptococcus, both at the Regal Frederiks College. He held his position as professor of hygiene and bacteriology (1893-1921) and held this title, among others until his retirement in 1930. Streptococcus, a genus of spherical, Gram-positive bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes. ...

Along with Theodor Frølich, Holst suspected a nutritional deficiency for scurvy, and established an animal model that allowed systematic study of factors that led to disease as well as the preventive value of different substances. After substituting pigeons for a guinea pig as the experimental animal for these studies was a lucky coincidence, as the guinea pig has been shown to be among the very few mammals capable of showing scurvy-like symptoms. This occurred when a diet fed consisting of various types of grain either whole or baked into bread, and these symptoms were prevented when the diet was supplemented with known antiscorbutics like fresh cabbage or lemon juice. Their findings were published in 1907 in the Journal of Hygiene, but was unpopular with the scientific community as the concepts of nutritional deficiencies was unheard of at the time. Throughout his career Holst made many other contributions, writing out numerous medical books and articles related to sanitation, health and practical hygine. ^[1][2] Scurvy is a disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C and leads to the formation of livid spots on the skin, spongy gums and bleeding from almost all mucous membranes. ...

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