Edward Schäfer (aka Sharpey-Schäfer) June 2, 1850 to March 29, 1935 and Endocrine Physiology
Submitted by Alan D. Rogol, MD, Ph.D.
Edward Schäfer took on the name of his mentor, William Sharpey, the father of British physiology, just after the first World War. He was the pre-eminent British physiologist of his time and pioneered endocrine research, declaring that the “old physiology” based on the primacy of the nervous system was now declining. The “new” physiology ascended as it emphasized the chemical (endocrine) primacy of the regulation of the entire organism. He did state that the nervous system remained critical in bioregulation as the endocrine glands acted together with the nervous system (Ir J Med Sci, 6th ser, 1931; 69:483). Sharpey-Schäfer was a strong advocate for experimental physiology, for it provided a firm foundation for the theory and practice of clinical medicine.