Sir Joseph Barcroft: one victorian physiologist's contributions to a half century of discovery

Abstract

During the first half of the 20th Century, Joseph Barcroft, KBE, FRS of Cambridge University became a world leader in respiratory physiology. He determined the role of neural stimulation in the oxygen consumption of several organs, established many of the factors that regulate the binding of oxygen to haemoglobin, explored the determinants of a human's acclimatization to high altitude and developed the field of fetal cardiovascular physiology. Chair of the Cambridge Department of Physiology from 1925 to 1937, he served as a consultant and member of many UK governmental committees. During World War I, he led a British research unit exploring the effects of poisonous gases on pulmonary function and related problems. In addition to his almost 300 publications, several of his monographs are considered as classics.

Figure 1

Sir Joseph Barcroft.

Figure 2

Alta Vista Hut, Teneriffe, 1910 (Franklin, 1953).

Figure 3

Capanna Regina Margherita, Monte Rosa, 1911 (Franklin, 1953).

Figure 4

Interior of mobile laboratory, Cerro de Pasco, 1921–1922 (Franklin, 1953)

Figure 5

‘Glass Chamber’ at Cambridge University, 1920 (Franklin, 1953).

Figure 6

Joseph Barcroft measuring blood gases, 1928 (Franklin, 1953).

Figure 7

Joseph Barcroft lecturing, 1935 (Franklin, 1953).