Sydney Ringer
Encyclopedia
Sydney Ringer FRS was a British clinician and pharmacologist, best known for inventing Ringer's solution
. He was born in March 1836 in Norwich, England
and died following a stroke 14 October 1910, in Lastingham
, Yorkshire, England
. His gravestone and many other records report 1835 for his birth, but his baptismal record at St Mary's Baptist Chapel (referred to in Ringer's own will) confirms this was 1836.
Born into a non-conformist family (often, but incorrectly described as 'Quaker') in Norwich
, Ringer's father died in 1843 while he was still very young. His elder brother, John Melancthon, amassed a vast fortune in Shanghai, whilst his younger brother, Frederick, went to Japan, where he founded the company Holme, Ringer & Co in Nagasaki and became so successful he was given the name “King of Nagasaki”
Ringer’s entire professional career was associated with the University College Hospital, London
. He entered University College, London
, in 1854, and graduated M.B. in 1860, being a resident medical officer in the University Medical Hospital from 1861 to 1862. He gained his M.D. in 1863 and that same year was appointed as assistant physician to the hospital, becoming a full physician in 1866. From 1865 to 1869 he also held the position as assistant physician at the Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street
.
Ringer was an outstanding bedside teacher who continued the high standard of clinical instruction that had been established at the University College Hospital. He was not, however, in his element in set lectures. Ringer served successively as professor of materia medica, pharmacology
and therapeutics, and the principles and practice of medicine at the University College faculty of medicine. In 1887 he was named Holme professor of clinical medicine, a chair he held until his retirement in 1900. In 1870 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
and in 1885 a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Ringer’s Handbook of Therapeutics was a classic of its day and passed through thirteen editions between 1869 and 1897. This book was originally commissioned as a revision of Jonathan Pereira’s (1804-1853) massive Elements of Materia Medica (first edition from 1839), but Ringer was little concerned with the minutiae of traditional medical botany and materia medical. He offered instead a thoroughly practical treatise in which the actions and indications of drugs were concisely summarized.
Ringer was one of the early true clinical investigators. Patient care, clinical teaching, and writing occupied most of Ringer’s career, but for many years he also maintained a small laboratory in the department of physiology; at that time there was no pharmacology laboratory at University College. He was universally known for his punctuality and the fanatical way he would spend every spare moment in his laboratory. It is even recorded that he climbed the palings of the hospital wall one evening when he found the door locked, in order to get to his laboratory. Following his morning round he would always make an appearance in the physiological laboratory and make suggestions to the laboratory assistant, examine the traces and then depart for his rooms at Cavendish Place, where he would do his consultant work.
With the aid of a series of collaborators, including E. G. A. Morshead, William Murrell (1853-1912), Harrington Sainsbury, and Dudley Buxton, Ringer published between 1875 and 1895 more than thirty papers devoted to the actions of inorganic salts on living tissues.
In the 1860s Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (1816-1895) had developed some perfusion techniques for the study of isolated organs. From the beginning the heart had served as the principal organ for these “extravital” investigations, and most of Ringer’s physiological work relied on Ludwig’s experimental model. In a classic series of experiments performed between 1882 and 1885, Ringer began with an isolated frog heart suspended in a 0.75% solution of sodium chloride. He then introduced additional substances (for example, blood and albumin) to the solution and observed the effects on the beating heart. He demonstrated that the abnormally prolonged ventricular dilation induced by pure sodium chloride solution is reversed by both blood and albumin. Ringer showed that small amounts of calcium in the perfusing solution are necessary for the maintenance of a normal heartbeat, a discovery he made after realizing that instead of distilled water, his technician was actually using tap water containing (in London) calcium at nearly the same concentration as the blood. Ringer thus gradually perfected Ludwig’s perfusion technique by proving that if small amounts of potassium are added to the normal solution of sodium chloride, isolated organs can be kept functional for long periods of time.
This formed the basis of “Ringer’s solution”, which became an immediate necessity for the physiological laboratory. Clinically important derivatives include "Ringer's Lactate" .
In 2007, a brief biography of Ringer was published by the Physiological Society, of which SR was an early member.
Ringer's solution
Ringer's solution is the name given to a solution of several salts dissolved in water for the purpose of creating an isotonic solution relative to the bodily fluids of an animal. Ringer's solution typically contains sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate,...
. He was born in March 1836 in Norwich, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and died following a stroke 14 October 1910, in Lastingham
Lastingham
Lastingham is a village and civil parish which lies in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, five miles north east of Kirkbymoorside, one and a half miles to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early missionaries to the...
, Yorkshire, England
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. His gravestone and many other records report 1835 for his birth, but his baptismal record at St Mary's Baptist Chapel (referred to in Ringer's own will) confirms this was 1836.
Born into a non-conformist family (often, but incorrectly described as 'Quaker') in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Ringer's father died in 1843 while he was still very young. His elder brother, John Melancthon, amassed a vast fortune in Shanghai, whilst his younger brother, Frederick, went to Japan, where he founded the company Holme, Ringer & Co in Nagasaki and became so successful he was given the name “King of Nagasaki”
Ringer’s entire professional career was associated with the University College Hospital, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He entered University College, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1854, and graduated M.B. in 1860, being a resident medical officer in the University Medical Hospital from 1861 to 1862. He gained his M.D. in 1863 and that same year was appointed as assistant physician to the hospital, becoming a full physician in 1866. From 1865 to 1869 he also held the position as assistant physician at the Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
.
Ringer was an outstanding bedside teacher who continued the high standard of clinical instruction that had been established at the University College Hospital. He was not, however, in his element in set lectures. Ringer served successively as professor of materia medica, pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
and therapeutics, and the principles and practice of medicine at the University College faculty of medicine. In 1887 he was named Holme professor of clinical medicine, a chair he held until his retirement in 1900. In 1870 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
and in 1885 a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Ringer’s Handbook of Therapeutics was a classic of its day and passed through thirteen editions between 1869 and 1897. This book was originally commissioned as a revision of Jonathan Pereira’s (1804-1853) massive Elements of Materia Medica (first edition from 1839), but Ringer was little concerned with the minutiae of traditional medical botany and materia medical. He offered instead a thoroughly practical treatise in which the actions and indications of drugs were concisely summarized.
Ringer was one of the early true clinical investigators. Patient care, clinical teaching, and writing occupied most of Ringer’s career, but for many years he also maintained a small laboratory in the department of physiology; at that time there was no pharmacology laboratory at University College. He was universally known for his punctuality and the fanatical way he would spend every spare moment in his laboratory. It is even recorded that he climbed the palings of the hospital wall one evening when he found the door locked, in order to get to his laboratory. Following his morning round he would always make an appearance in the physiological laboratory and make suggestions to the laboratory assistant, examine the traces and then depart for his rooms at Cavendish Place, where he would do his consultant work.
With the aid of a series of collaborators, including E. G. A. Morshead, William Murrell (1853-1912), Harrington Sainsbury, and Dudley Buxton, Ringer published between 1875 and 1895 more than thirty papers devoted to the actions of inorganic salts on living tissues.
In the 1860s Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (1816-1895) had developed some perfusion techniques for the study of isolated organs. From the beginning the heart had served as the principal organ for these “extravital” investigations, and most of Ringer’s physiological work relied on Ludwig’s experimental model. In a classic series of experiments performed between 1882 and 1885, Ringer began with an isolated frog heart suspended in a 0.75% solution of sodium chloride. He then introduced additional substances (for example, blood and albumin) to the solution and observed the effects on the beating heart. He demonstrated that the abnormally prolonged ventricular dilation induced by pure sodium chloride solution is reversed by both blood and albumin. Ringer showed that small amounts of calcium in the perfusing solution are necessary for the maintenance of a normal heartbeat, a discovery he made after realizing that instead of distilled water, his technician was actually using tap water containing (in London) calcium at nearly the same concentration as the blood. Ringer thus gradually perfected Ludwig’s perfusion technique by proving that if small amounts of potassium are added to the normal solution of sodium chloride, isolated organs can be kept functional for long periods of time.
This formed the basis of “Ringer’s solution”, which became an immediate necessity for the physiological laboratory. Clinically important derivatives include "Ringer's Lactate" .
In 2007, a brief biography of Ringer was published by the Physiological Society, of which SR was an early member.