Archibald Edward Garrod: the physician father of biochemistry

Abstract

Fig. 1. Archibald Edward Garrod (from Inborn errors of Metabolism). The authors briefly describe the life and scientific activity of Archibald Edward Garrod (Fig. 1) who is recognized as “the father of biochemistry” by the Royal Society of Medicine. The basis for this recognition is his study of the disorder alcaptonuria, which he discovered and described in his book Inborn Errors of Metabolism. In this book, he emphasized the interrelationship between biochemistry and genetics, and that these 2 disciplines are not 2 distinct entities but are closely related in the practice of medicine [1-4]. Archibald Edward Garrod was born on 25 November 1857 in London, the son of Alfred Baring Garrod and Elizabeth Ann Colchester. He grew up in the time when the discipline of medicine was considered an “elite” discipline and only “little” men worked as physicians. His father was a prominent physician who is remembered as the discoverer of the difference between “rheumatic gout” (which involves no increase in uric acid) and “real gout” (which involves an increase in uric acid). Alfred died in 1907 after writing 2 important books: The Essentials of Material Medica, Therapeutics, and the Pharmacopoeia and The Nature and Treatment of Gout and Rheumatic Gout. Archibald was raised in an environment that valued science. Alfred's strong personality and cultural activities influenced Archibald's studies and thinking; Archibald was also influenced by his brother Alfred Henry's cultural activities. Alfred Henry was interested in the natural sciences and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and an editor of the journal Nature. Alfred Henry is remembered for his studies on blood pressure and the use of the sphygmograph, and on the regulation of body temperature in humans.