Otto Cohnheim--the forgotten physiologist.

Who was Otto Cohnheim? It is no exaggeration to say that he was the man who laid the foundation of our present understanding of the absorption of protein digestion products and also protein metabolism-yet he remains forgotten. This is largely because he unfortunately became, like so many others, a victim of political enthusiasm. 1978 is the 25th anniversary of his death, a fitting time to try to restore some of his scientific credit, which should be great, and to honour his memory. Otto Cohnheim must not be confused with his father, the eminent pathologist Julius Cohnheim, whose solemn Victorian portrait may still be seen in at least one standard textbook of pathology. Many of us may recall from our physiology books that "Cohnheim discovered erepsin"-but the discoverer of erepsin was Otto Cohnheim, not Julius.