Du Bois-Reymond, Emil Heinrich (1818–1896)

German physiologist. He showed the existence of electrical currents in nerves, correctly arguing that it would be possible to transmit nerve impulses chemically. His experimental techniques proved the basis for almost all future work in electrophysiology, and his work with Hermann Helmholtz and Carl Ludwig helped establish a link between animal physiology and chemical and physical laws.

Investigating the physiology of muscles and nerves, Du Bois-Reymond demonstrated the presence of electricity in animals, especially researching electric fishes. By 1849 he had evolved a delicate multiplier for measuring nerve currents, enabling him to detect an electric current in ordinary localized muscle tissues, notably contracting muscles. He observantly traced it to individual fibres, finding their interior was negative with regard to the surface.

Du Bois-Reymond was born and educated in Berlin, Germany, and was professor at the Royal Institution in London, England, for three years, where he was sponsored by Michael Faraday. He was appointed professor of physiology at Berlin in 1858. Du Bois-Reymond denounced the vitalistic doctrines that were in vogue among German scientists and denied that nature contained mystical life forces independent of matter. Among his works are Untersuchungen über tierische Elektrizität (1848–84), Über die Grenzen des Naturerkennens (1872), and Vorlesungen über die Physik des organischen Stoffwechsels, (1900).