Ernest Duchesne

Ernest Duchesne (May 30, 1874 – April 12, 1912) was a French physician who noted that certain moulds kill bacteria. He made this discovery thirty-two years before Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic properties of penicillin, a substance derived from those moulds, but his research went unnoticed. Download high resolution version (381x686, 30 KB)Ernest Duchesne, first discoverer of penicillin; image obtained at http://lyon-sud. ... Download high resolution version (381x686, 30 KB)Ernest Duchesne, first discoverer of penicillin; image obtained at http://lyon-sud. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Physician examining a child A physician is a person who practices medicine. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (August 6, 1881 – March 11, 1955) was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... Penicillin nucleus Penicillin refers to a group of β-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms. ...

He entered l'Ecole du Service de Santé Militaire de Lyon (the Military Health Service School of Lyon) in 1894. Duchesne's thesis, “Contribution à l’étude de la concurrence vitale chez les micro-organismes: antagonisme entre les moisissures et les microbes” (Contribution to the study of vital competition in micro-organisms: antagonism between moulds and microbes), that he submitted in 1897 to get his doctorate degree, was the first study to consider the therapeutic capabilities of moulds resulting from their anti-microbial activity. 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Duchesne had made his breakthrough by observing how the Arab stable boys at the army hospital kept their saddles in a dark and damp room to encourage mould to grow on them. When he asked why, they told him that the mould helped to heal the saddle sores on the horses. Intrigued, Duchesne prepared a solution of the mould and injected it into a series of diseased guinea pigs. All recovered.

In a series of meticulous experiments, Duchesne studied the interaction between Escherichia coli and Penicillium glaucum, showing that the latter was able to completely eliminate the former in a culture containing only these two organisms. He also showed that an animal inoculated with a normally lethal dose of typhoid bacilli would be free of the disease if the animal was also inoculated with Penicillium glaucum. Binomial name Escherichia coli T. Escherich, 1885 E. coli at 10,000x magnification Escherichia coli, usually abbreviated to E. coli, discovered by Theodor Escherich, a pediatrician and bacteriologist, is one of the main species of bacteria that live in the lower intestines of warm-blooded animals, including birds and mammals. ... Species Penicillium notatum Penicillium glaucum Penicillium candida Penicillium roqueforti Penicillium marneffei Penicillium bilaiae Penicillium, commonly known as bread mold, is a genus of fungus that includes: Penicillium notatum, which produces the penicillin antibiotic. ... This is about the disease typhoid fever. ... Species Penicillium notatum Penicillium glaucum Penicillium candida Penicillium roqueforti Penicillium marneffei Penicillium bilaiae Penicillium, commonly known as bread mold, is a genus of fungus that includes: Penicillium notatum, which produces the penicillin antibiotic. ...

Because he was 23 and unknown, the Institut Pasteur did not even acknowledge receipt of his dissertation. He urged more research but unfortunately his army service after getting his degree prevented him from doing any further work. The Pasteur Institute (French: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, microorganisms, diseases and vaccines. ...

Duchesne

Duchesne served a one year internship at Val de Grâce before he was appointed a 2nd class Major of Medicine in the 2nd Regiment de Hussards de Senlis. In 1901, he married Rosa Lassalas from Cannes. She died 2 years later of tuberculosis. In 1904, Duchesne also contracted a serious chest disease, probably TB. Three years later, he was discharged from the army and sent to a sanatorium in Amelie les Bains. He died at the age of 37 on April 12, 1912. He is buried next to his wife in the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes. Image File history File links Duchesne. ... Image File history File links Duchesne. ... The seaside town of Cannes, in southern France, as seen from a ferry speeding towards lîle Saint Honorat Cannes (Canas in Provençal) (pronounced ) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département. ... Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Cimetière du Grand Jas (Grand Jas Cemetery) is located at 205 avenue de Grasse in Cannes on the French Riviera. ...

His own discovery might have saved him, his wife and millions of other lives in World War I, where secondary infection was the biggest killer. He was posthumously honoured in 1949, 5 years after Alexander Fleming had received the Nobel Prize. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (August 6, 1881 – March 11, 1955) was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ...

External links

• The full text of his thesis (in French)