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Although he had a preference for literature the French Physiologist Charles Richet studied medicine to please his father, a distinguished surgeon. As a medical student in Paris Charles Richet became interested in hypnosis. This led to the publication of his first paper Du Somnabulism provoqué. His experimental work covered a large fieldthe physiology of nerve and muscle, respiration, body temperature regulation, liver function, and dietetics. In 1885 he found that a small centre within the brain responding to bacterial toxins and foreign proteins was responsible for the accompanying fever. In 1888 he demonstrated that animals injected with bacteria developed antibodies and in 1890 he was the first to employ serum therapy.

His most important work began in 1901. Richet joined a marine exploration with Paul Jones Portier (1866-1962), a professor of comparative physiology at the University of Paris. The exploration was led by Albert I of Monaco, a specialist in oceanography. Their . . . [Full text of this article]