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Johannes Peter Müller
(1801-1858)
German physiologist and comparative anatomist, born in Coblenz,
July 14, 1801. He studied at the University of Bonn, and was
appointed to a professorship in physiology there in 1826. In
1843 he accepted the call to the chair of anatomy and physiology at
Berlin University, which position he held with great honor until his
death, April 28, 1858. He did much research in physiology, particularly
in relation to human speech and hearing. His great work was the Handbuch
der Physiologie des Menschen, 1833-40. (The English translation was made
by Dr. William Baly, publ. London 1842). This work opened a new period
in the study of physiology, and Müller is considered the main figure in
the developments in this field in the mid-19th century. In his Handbuch
Müller developed an entirely new principle which he called "the law of
specific energy of sense substances." This he expressed as follows: "The
kind of sensation following stimulation of a sensory nerve does not
depend on the mode of stimulation, but upon the nature of the sense
organ. Thus, light, pressure, or mechanical stimulation acting on the
retina and optic nerve invariably produces luminous impressions."
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