Je˛ drzej S´niadecki - Società Italiana di Nefrologia

JNEPHROL 2013; 26 ( Suppl 22): S40-S44
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
DOI: 10.5301/jn.5000340
Je˛drzej Śniadecki (1768-1838) and his flirtation
with nephrology
Bolesław Rutkowski 1,2, Janusz Ostrowski 2,3
Department of Nephrology, Transplantation and Internal
Medicine, Medical University, Gdańsk - Poland
2
Historical Section, Polish Society of Nephrology, Gdańsk
- Poland
3 Third Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology,
Provincial Hospital, Wloclawek - Poland
1
Historical SePold
Introduction
Spanning the period from the late 17th to the late 18th century, the Enlightenment, referred to as the age of reason or the
age of philosophers, proved to be a period of breakthroughs
for European culture and science. It was based on the belief
that it was human reason that served as the means of discovering the truth about the world and man. The most notable
figures of the Enlightenment were France’s Montesquieu,
Voltaire, Denis Diderot and Jean Jacques Rousseau, Britain’s
David Hume and Germany’s Emmanuel Kant. Although
the ideals of the Enlightenment spread in Poland somewhat
later – in the 1740s – and lasted until the mid-19th century,
they brought about a dynamic development of science,
education and culture resulting in Poland becoming the first
European country to create and adopt a constitution. All of
these developments came to an abrupt halt with Poland falling victim to 3 subsequent acts of partition of its territory. The
key scientific and educational representatives of the era in
Poland included Stanisław Konarski, Hugo Kołła˛taj, Stanisław
Staszic and the Śniadecki brothers – Jan and Je˛drzej. Je˛drzej
Śniadecki was also the most distinguished figure in the field
of medicine and chemistry.
Biography and scientific achievement
Je˛drzej Śniadecki was born on 30 November 1768 in Żnin,
Greater Poland. His father, Je˛drzej Śniadecki Senior, was a
land owner and a graduate of Lubrański College in Poznań,
and his mother was Franciszka Giszczyńska. Je˛drzej
Śniadecki Jr was the youngest of the 4 siblings. His education started in a renowned monastery-run school in the
S40
neighboring town of Trzemeszno and was continued in the
famous Nowodworski Secondary School in Krakow, where
he was taken care of by his elder and already-famous brother – Jan. He completed the secondary school with distinction, receiving a diligentae (for diligence) medal from King
Stanislaw August Poniatowski. Then he studied physics and
mathematics at the Main Crown School in Krakow where
he encountered 2 outstanding chemists, Jan Jaśkiewicz,
the first Polish professor of chemistry, and Prof. Franciszek
Scheidt. After a year, he moved to the Medical Faculty from
which he graduated in 1791. The same year, he went to
study in Pavia, Italy, where he obtained his PhD in medicine
and philosophy. At that time, Pavia, along with Paris, was
a leading center for chemical research in Europe. It was in
Italy that Śniadecki met the great names of the time, including the pioneers in the field of electricity, Galvani and Volta,
the anatomist Antonio Scarpa, the physiologist Lazzaro
Spallanzani and the clinical doctor Jan Piotr Franek. After
his stay in Italy, he was planning to continue his education
in Paris with Antoine Lavoisier, but the social unrest of the
French Revolution (Lavoisier himself was guillotined) made
him move to Edinburgh in 1793, which in the late 18th century was one of the intellectual centers of Europe and home
to a number of renowned scientists and thinkers of the era.
In Scotland, Śniadecki trained with the famous chemist
Joseph Black, the anatomist Alexander Monro and the internist Andrew Duncan. After this, he went to Vienna for
6 months, where he came into contact with the representatives of the First Vienna School of Medicine. Then, in 1796
he arrived in Volhynia where he accepted the position of
family doctor and married Konstancja Mikułowska. In 1797,
he was appointed professor of chemistry at the Principal
School of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius (later Vil-
© 2013 Società Italiana di Nefrologia - ISSN 1121-8428
JNEPHROL 2013; 26 ( Suppl 22): S40-S44
nius University and Medical-Surgical Academy) (Fig. 1).
Je˛drzej Śniadecki made efforts to establish a scientific and
research center, with Polish as the language of instruction. A
new building for chemical education and research was erected and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for the performance of research in chemical analysis at the top European
level. He retired in 1822 and left the Faculty of Chemistry to
settle in his village estate in Bołtupia. However, 5 years later,
in 1827, he again accepted the position of head of the medical clinic at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Je˛drzej Śniadecki
died in Vilnius on 11 May 1838 and was buried in the neighboring town of Horodniki (modern Belarus) next to his wife,
Konstancja Mikułowska, who had died before, in 1830. He
had 3 children: Józef, Ludwika and Zofia. The last married
Michał Baliński, a historian, journalist, biographer and publisher of Jan and Je˛drzej Śniadecki’s works. Śniadecki’s
funeral was attended by about 20 thousand people (1-9).
Śniadecki was renowned for his activities in the fields of chemistry, biology, medicine and journalism. As early as 1800, he
published 2 volumes of the first textbook of chemistry, titled
The Beginnings of Chemistry, dealing with both inorganic and
organic chemistry (10). The work included the foundations of
Polish chemical terminology, which was valid in the Polish
chemical literature until the 1970s, and some nontypical
Polish names of the chemical elements such as wodór (hydrogen), we˛giel (carbon), krzem (silicon) and siarka (sulfur)
are still in use today. The second volume of the work includes the division of urine depending on the time it takes
to extract it from the system (drinks urine, food urine and
blood urine), as well as the characteristics of the composition and physiochemical properties of urine. Śniadecki also
presented the mechanism behind the creation of urinary
tract stones, their shape and chemical composition. According to him, the most common chemical compositions of urinary tract stones are uric acid, ammonia uranium, tricalcium
phosphate, magnesium ammonium phosphate, calcium oxalate and others. He also presents the possibilities for treatment of renal calculus, especially of the bladder type, with
the use of lye and acid, having examined the composition of
the sediment directly through the bladder. In June 1808, he
published his work on a new metal, the element discovered
in crude Siberian platinum, which he called west (11). Nevertheless, this discovery failed to be confirmed by the French
Institute of Science. Forty years later, the Russian chemist
Carl Claus extracted the last element of the platinum family –
ruthenium. In 1907, having compared west and ruthenium
again, it was discovered that the 2 metals shared as many
as 9 out of 13 tested properties. Although the issue is still
controversial, it is no longer possible to test the same sample of ore which was tested by Śniadecki, which would be
Fig. 1 - Prof. Je˛drzej Śniadecki (courtesy of the Jagiellonian
Library).
decisive. The most famous representatives of Śniadecki’s
school of chemistry included: Jan Fryderyk Wolfgang, a
professor of pharmacy at the University of Vilnius; Ignacy
Fonberg, Śniadecki’s successor in the Faculty of Chemistry;
Jerzy Skrodzki, a professor of physics at the University of
Warsaw; Michał Oczapowski, a pioneer of agricultural studies in Poland; Wincenty Homolicki, a professor of physiology
at the University of Vilnius; and Ignacy Domeyko, rector of the
University of Santiago, Chile. To honor Je˛drzej Śniadecki’s
contribution to Polish chemistry, the Polish Chemical Society issued a medal featuring his portrait, the highest scientific honor presented by this organization (12-13).
Je˛drzej Śniadecki’s opus magnum was the original and
groundbreaking work Teorya Jestestw Organicznych (The
theory of organic beings) published in 1804, (14) in which
he describes the unique feature of living organisms, which
is continuous metabolism and exchange of energy with the
surrounding environment. In Śniadecki’s opinion, human
nature can be approached and examined from the point of
view of anatomy, organic chemistry and physiology. Only
© 2013 Società Italiana di Nefrologia - ISSN 1121-8428
S41
Rutkowski and Ostrowski: Je¸ drzej Śniadecki and nephrology
the combination of these elements can result in the emergence of real medicine. One of Śniadecki’s contemporaries
– a professor of physiology, Johannes Müller from Berlin –
expressed the following opinion regarding this work: “An
outstanding, alas unknown work … in my opinion this is
the first philosophical foundation of the scientific system in
medicine.…” (15) Teorya Jestestw Organicznych was translated into German twice (in 1810 and 1821) and into French
in 1823 (16). For many years, it remained the basic textbook at German and Russian universities. Teorya Jestestw
Organicznych constituted the summary of the total scope
of knowledge of nature, a genius’s attempt to describe the
physiological aspect of life (17-21).
Śniadecki also made no small contribution in significant
medical discoveries. In 1805, in Vilnius he published his
work On the Physical Upbringing of Children (O fizycznym
wychowaniu dzieci) (22). It can be assumed that this outstanding work derived from the activities of the Commission
of National Education. The work was aimed at presenting
the methods of child upbringing to shape their bodies properly, taking care of both the physical and mental development of the young. The work was of high edifying value for
biologists, physiologists, hygienists and educationalists. In
the second edition of the work, which came out in 1822,
Śniadecki proposed for the first time a method of rickets
treatment with sunbathing, which later appeared as treatment with vitamin D. The British scientist T.A. Palm reached
the same conclusion only in 1890, and yet he is cited as the
author of the discovery. It was the works by Włodzimierz
Mozołowski, published in the journal Nature in 1939 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Śniadecki’s death, and
by Michael Holick of Boston University Medical Center that
brought back recognition of Śniadecki’s discovery by the international world of medicine (21, 23-29).
Contribution to nephrology
It is worth realizing that throughout his work in Vilnius, Je˛drzej
Śniadecki remained a practitioner. This was true both during
his 25 years as head of the Faculty of Chemistry, and during
his nearly 12 years as head of the Clinic at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Numerous works written by Śniadecki include
those concerning nephrology, with 2 that are of particular
interest for nephrologists: “O zatrzymaniu uryny z przyczyny
kamienia jednej tylko nerki” (On retention of urine caused
by stones in one kidney only) published in the Pamie˛tniki
Towarzystwa Lekarskiego Wileńskiego (Memoirs of the Vilnius Doctors’ Society) in 1818, and “Szczególny przypadek
zatrzymania uryny (Ischuria), podany przez dra Karola Hastings (The London Medical and Physical Journal, June [sic]
S42
1829)” (A particular instance of urine retention (ischuria)
quoted by Dr. Charles Hastings (The London Medical and
Physical Journal. June 1829)) published in Dziennik Medycyny, Chirurgii i Farmacyi (the Journal of Medicine, Surgery and
Pharmacy) in 1830 (30-32). Both works include very detailed
accounts of a common malfunction of the urinary system –
renal calculus – and the associated obstructive nephropathy
leading to the development of uremia, made complete with
a post mortem description. In the papers, he also suggested the treatment methods offered to patients in accordance
with the level of knowledge at that time. It seems relevant to
note that these were among the first such descriptions in the
European medical literature, made at the same time as Richard Bright’s work in nephrology which was widely regarded
as pioneering (33-35) (Fig. 2).
In the works mentioned above, Śniadecki touches upon the
problems concerning what we might call today the renorenal reflux, his views on the place of urine production and the
methods of treatment of the described ailments.
In the first work, on anuria caused by kidney stone in 1 kidney only, he describes his observations made during an
autopsy concerning the total damage to the kidney suffering from the disease, and the unchanged condition of the
healthy kidney, as well as the completely unclogged ureter. What was intriguing for Śniadecki was the fact that the
healthy kidney had failed to produce urine as it should have
according to the general rules of the functioning of the organ. To explain this phenomenon he proposed that in cases
of it being impossible to remove the stone, a reverse motion appears in the system – the so-called motus peristalticus. In his opinion, the reverse movement was caused by
an increased sensitivity of the urinary tract, inflammation or
higher nervous activity. He also explained that similar instances of a reverse motion could be observed in the lymphatic and capillary vessel system. Of course, one cannot
expect Śniadecki to have been aware of the detailed renal
innervation and the impact of the sympathetic nervous system on the functioning of kidneys (36-38). The existence
of such dependence was neglected for a number of years,
and it was only with the experimental and clinical work conducted in the last quarter of the 20th century that a detailed
definition was made of the role of the autonomous nervous
system in this area and the establishment of the existence
of the renorenal reflux (39, 40). What does, however, cause
amazement and inspire respect is his ability to hypothesize
the existence of such reflux despite having no possibility
whatsoever of testing it on an experimental basis. What is
more, it was a remarkable accomplishment to suggest for
the first time ever that excitation of the nervous system can
play a role in this phenomenon.
© 2013 Società Italiana di Nefrologia - ISSN 1121-8428
JNEPHROL 2013; 26 ( Suppl 22): S40-S44
Fig. 2 - A-D) Journal pages
of articles by Śniadecki: “O
zatrzymaniu uryny z przyczyny kamienia jednej tylko
nerki” (On retention of urine
caused by stones in one
kidney only) (25) and “Szczególny przypadek zatrzymania uryny (ischuria podany
przez dra Karola Hastings)”
(Particular instance of urine
retention (ischuria) quoted
by Dr. Charles Hastings) (26).
A
B
C
In the other of the works cited above, Śniadecki wrote a
detailed polemic discussion with some information included
in the reference literature, calling upon works by Charles
Hasting from England (The London Medical and Physical
Journal, June 1829) (27), Dr. Falaschi (Journal Universel des
Science Medicales, 1829, p. 513) and Mr. Arnold (Journal
Universel des Science Medicales, 1828) (31, 32). He reiterates that urine is only produced in the kidneys, and flatly refutes the suggestions included in Arnold’s work (1828) that
urine could trickle from the ear, eye, chest wart, tip of the
nose or stomach, treating them as completely ungrounded
and contradictory to physiology.
It seems interesting to note that for the clinical cases described, he administered the following medications and
methods of treatment: sodium carbonate, pills of soap
and bitter extracts, bathing, strenuous physical work,
reduction in the intake of food, decent nourishment, application of Spanish flies, magnesium sulfate dissolved
in camphor mixture, cupping on the back, plaster, laxating medications and quicksilver. Apart from bathing,
physical workouts and dietetic treatment, all of the other
methods have failed to remain as part of the modern
therapy of kidney stones (41).
2.
Summary
Je˛drzej Śniadecki had a truly amazingly creative mind for
his times. Some of his accomplishments and discoveries
in the fields of chemistry, biology, medicine, sociology and
hygiene were far ahead of his time, and are still valid today.
He was among the greatest of the Enlightenment figures not
only in Poland, but also in Europe. By general consent, he
is regarded as the father of Polish chemistry and pediatrics,
and his flirtation with nephrology confirms the depth and
versatility of his perception and reasoning.
Financial support: No financial support.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Address for correspondence:
Prof. Bolesław Rutkowski
Medical University
Department of Nephrology,
Transplantation and Internal Medicine
De˛binki Street 7
PL-80211 Gdańsk, Poland
[email protected]
3.
References
1.
D
Baliński M. Życie Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego: Nakład i druk
Ernesta Günthera. Leszno i Gniezno; 1840.
Jelinek J. Sławni Żninianie. Je˛drzej Śniadecki 1768-1838.
Żnin: Miejska i Powiatowa Biblioteka Publiczna; 2008.
4.
5.
Karpińska D, Szymański J. Gimnazjum Trzemeszeńskie
z miastem w tle. Poznan: Wielkopolskie Muzeum Walk
Niepodległościowych; 2008.
Konieczyńska J, Żurawska E. Je˛drzej Śniadecki 1768-1838.
Bibliografia w wyborze. Żnin: Powiatowa i Miejska Biblioteka
Publiczna; 1970.
Gawe˛da S. Studia akademickie Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego w
© 2013 Società Italiana di Nefrologia - ISSN 1121-8428
S43
Rutkowski and Ostrowski: Je¸ drzej Śniadecki and nephrology
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
S44
Krakowie. Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1969;1:11-17.
Chrze˛ściewski L. Studia medyczne Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego w
Krakowie. Wiad Lek. 1977;21:1709-1712.
Gryglewski R. Je˛drzej Sniadecki (1768-1838). In: Skalski J.,
Gryglewski R, eds. Zasłużeni dla medycyny: Europejczycy
zwia˛ zani z polska˛ ziemia˛. Poznań: Wydawnictwo medyczne
Termedia; 2009.
Żurawska E. Żnin i Je˛drzej Śniadecki. W dwusetna˛ rocznice˛
urodzin Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego. Bydgoszcz: Polskie Towarzystwo Pediatryczne Oddział Bydgoski; 1968.
Skarżyński B. Je˛drzej Śniadecki: Wybór pism naukowych
i publicystycznych. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo
Naukowe; 1952.
Śniadecki J. Pocza˛tki chemii dla użycia słuchaczów akademickich ułożone. Vol. II. Wilno: Nakładem i drukiem Józefa
Zawadzkiego Akademii Zwyczajnego Drukarza; 1807.
Śniadecki J: Rozprawa o nowym metalu w surowej platynie odkrytym przez Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego i t. d. czytana
na publicznym posiedzenie imperatorskiego uniwersytetu
wileńskiego. Wilno 1808.
Ostrowski W. Zasługi Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego dla rozwoju
chemii i biochemii w Polsce. Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1969;
1:19-27.
Szukalski B. Je˛drzej Śniadecki jako chemik. Arch Hist Med
(Warsz). 1969;1:29-35.
Śniadecki J: Teorya jestestw organicznych, T 1, Warszawa
1804.
Müller J: Bildenggsichte der Genitalnie. Düsseldorf 1830
Śniadecki J: Theorie der organischen Messen Konigsberg
1810.
Gie˛dosz B. Zasługi Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego dla polskiej patofizjologii. Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1969;1:37-41.
Mie˛tkiewski E. Je˛drzej Śniadecki (1768-1838). Acta Physiol
Pol. 1967;2:52-58.
Hanecki M. Zasługi Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego dla nauki polskiej.
Pol Tyg Lek. 1968;52:2024-2026.
Kikta T. Jakie leki stosowano w klinice Je˛drzeja Śniadeckiego.
Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1969;1:53-56.
Kutner A, Paszkowska-Reymer T, Wietrzyk J. Aktywne metabolity i analogi witamin D-aktualne wskazania i potencjalne
terapie. Standardy Medyczne-Pediatria. 2011;2:1183-1194.
Myśliwiec H., Myśliwiec M. Rola witaminy D w ustroju.
Medycyna po Dyplomie. 2007;9:130-134.
Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(6)(Suppl):1678S-1688S.
Holick M. The cutaneous photosynthesis of previtamin D3:
a unique photoendocrine system. J Invest Dermatol. 1981;
76(1):51-58.
Holick M. The cutaneous photosynthesis of previtamin D3:
a unique photoendocrine system. J Invest Derm. 1981; 76:
51-58.
26. Tukaj C. Właściwy poziom witaminy D warunkiem zachowania zdrowia. Postepy Hig Med Dosw. 2008;62:502-510.
27. Holick M. Vitamin D for health and in chronic kidney disease.
Semin Dial. 2005;4(4):266-275.
28. Skorupka S. O je˛zyku pism publicystycznych Je˛drzeja
Śniadeckiego. Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1969;1:44-51.
29. Ereciński K. Je˛drzej Śniadecki. Dwusetna rocznica urodzin.
Ped. Pol. 1968;12:1461-1463.
30. Śniadecki J. O zatrzymaniu uryny z przyczyn kamienia jednej
nerki [On retention of urine caused by stones in one kidney
only]. Pamie˛tniki Towarzystwa Lekarskiego Wileńskiego.
1818;1:167-191.
31. Śniadecki J. Szczególny przypadek zatrzymania uryny
(ischuria), podany przez dra Karola Hastings (The London
Medical and Physical Journal Juny [sic] 1829) [A particular
instance of urine retention (ischuria) quoted by Dr. Charles Hastings (The London Medical and Physical Journal.
June 1829)]. Dziennik Medycyny, Chirurgii i Farmacyi.
1830;1:248-257.
32. Hasting C. A particular instance of urine retention (ischuria).
The London Medical and Physical Journal. June 1829.
33. Bright R. Reports of medical cases, selected with a view of
illustrating the symptoms and cure of diseases by a references to morbid anatomy. London: Longman, Rees, Orme,
Brown and Green; 1827.
34. Bright R. Cases and observations illustrative of renal disease
accompanied with the secretion of albuminous urine. Guys
Hosp Rep. 1836;1:338-379.
35. Cameron JS, Becker EL. Richard Bright and observations in
renal pathology. Guys Hosp Rep. 1964;113:159-171.
36. Barajas L. The innervation of the juxtaglomerular apparatus:
an electron microscopic study of the innervation of the glomerular arterioles. Lab Invest. 1964;13:916-929.
37. Converse RL Jr, Jacobsen TN, Toto RD, et al. Sympathetic
overactivity in patients with chronic renal failure. N Engl J
Med. 1992;327(27):1912-1918.
38. Coote J, Snow HM. The neural and hormonal regulation of
kidney function. Aachen: Shaker Verlag; 2012.
39. Kopp UC, Smith LA, DiBona GF. Renorenal reflexes: neural
components of ipsilateral and contralateral responese. Am J
Physiol Renal Physiol. 1985;249:F507-F517.
40. Kopp UC, Olson LA, DiBona GF. Renorenal reflex responses
to mechano- and chemoreceptor stimulation in the dog and
rat. Am J Physiol. 1984;246(1 Pt 2):F67-F77.
41. Richet G. Nephrolithiasis at the turn of the 18th and 19th
centuries: biochemical distrubances. Am J Nephrol. 2002;22
(2-3):254-259.
Accepted: September 20, 2013
© 2013 Società Italiana di Nefrologia - ISSN 1121-8428