Paul Portier (physiologist)
Paul Portier | |
|---|---|
1953 stamp of Monaco commemorating the discovery of anaphylaxis by Charles Richet and Paul Portier | |
| Born | 22 May 1866 Bar-sur-Seine, France |
| Died | 26 January 1962 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Known for | Discovery of anaphylaxis Symbiogenesis |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physiology |
| Institutions | University of Paris Institut océanographique de Paris |
Paul Jules Portier (French pronunciation: [pɔl ʒyl pɔʁtje]; 22 May 1866 – 26 January 1962) was a French physiologist who made important contributions to the discovery of anaphylaxis and the development of symbiogenesis. On a scientific expedition organised by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, he and Charles Richet discovered that toxins produced by marine animals (cnidarians such as Portuguese man o' war and sea anemone) could induce fatal shocks. They named the medical phenomenon "anaphylaxis," from which Richet went on to receive the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Portier was the first scientist to explain that the cell organelle, mitochondrion, arose by symbiosis according to his evolutionary theory in 1918.