- English
physiologist who discovered the digestive hormone secretin, the
first hormone to be found, with Ernest Starling 1902. During
World War I, Bayliss introduced the use of saline (salt water)
injections to help the injured recover from shock.
Bayliss was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, and studied
at University College, London, and at Oxford, becoming professor
at University College.
By experimenting with the inner lining of the duodenum (first
part of the intestines), Bayliss concluded that as hydrochloric
acid from the stomach's digestive juices passes into the duodenum
during the normal digestive process, the duodenal lining releases
a chemical into the bloodstream which, in turn, makes the pancreas
secrete its juices. This is the hormone secretin.
Bayliss went on to study the activation of enzymes, particularly
the pancreatic enzyme trypsin. Bayliss and Starling also investigated
the peristaltic movements of the intestines and their nerve supply,
and pressures within the venous and arterial systems.
Bayliss's Principles of General Physiology 1915 became a standard
work.
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