Claude Bernard was born in 1813 in Saint-Julien, France. He is considered to be the ‘father of modern experimental physiology’. Physiology is the study of the functions of living organisms and their parts.
Bernard’s most important contribution was on the concept of the internal environment of an organism, which laid the foundation for our understanding of homeostasis.
He also made an important discovery on the physiology of digestion. Through experimentation and observation he discovered that the pancreas was involved in digesting fat and also that the main processes of digestion take place in the small intestine and not in the stomach.
In 1856, he discovered a white starchy substance called glycogen in the liver. He found out that glycogen was built in the body from sugar and served as a storage reserve for carbohydrates. In addition to this, Bernard also made other important contributions to neuroscience, such as the study of sensory nerves. Bernard is considered one of the founders of experimental medicine and played a vital role in laying down the basic rules of experimentation in the life sciences.
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