[MEDICINE]
BERNARD, CLAUDE. Sur une nouvelle fonction du foie chez l'homme et les animaux. (Seance du Lundi 21 Octobre 1850). In: Compte Rendu. Tome 31, no. 17. Paris: Compte Rendu, 1850. Late nineteenth century French red half morocco over marbled boards. 10 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches (27.5 x 22 cm); 561-592 pp, of which Bernard's work occupies pp. 571-574. Fine copies.
One of the foundational works of dietary research and biochemistry, Bernard's research, which first appeared here, offered an entirely new understanding of diabetes, hypoglycemia, insulin production, and glycogen depletion from endurance exercise. Glycogen, the analogue for starch, is a molecule that serves as the secondary long-term energy storage in the human body and is produced primarily by the liver and in muscles, and it is first discussed in this paper. Dibner Heralds of Science no. 131; Horblitt Grolier Science 100 no. 11a (for Bernard's dissertation of 1853).