Georges-Fernand Widal

Georges Fernand Isidore Widal ( born March 9, 1862 in Dellys ( Algeria); † January 14, 1929 in Paris) was a French physician, bacteriologist and pathologist.

Life

Fernand Widal studied at the University of Paris medicine. He received his doctorate in 1889, was appointed in 1911 as the successor of Paul Georges Dieulafoy professor of pathology and in 1918 professor of internal medicine. He was married, the marriage remained childless.

Widal was a member of the Académie de Médecine (1906 ), the Académie des Sciences (1919), the Royal Society of Medicine (1921) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1922 ).

The Hôpital Fernand Widal in Paris is named after him since 1959. In addition, the Rue Fernand Widal bears his name in the 13th Arrondissement of Paris.

Work

Widal described in 1896 which later became known as Gruber - Widal reaction serological method for the diagnosis of typhoid fever. He showed that in infected suspected cases occurring antibodies in the serum can be detected by an agglutination reaction in the presence of antigens of the pathogen Salmonella typhi. Other work Widals dedicated to inter alia the pathological basis of renal disease, the influence of the sodium chloride intake ( cooking salt) and edema in the dietary influence on the urea levels.

Writings (selection )

• Exposé des travaux scientifiques du Dr. Fernand Widal. G. Steinheil, Paris 1904. Digitized in the Internet Archive
• Streptococcie, Staphylococcie, Pneumococcie, Collibacillose. Baillière, Paris 1912. Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf