Biomaterial Database

Landmarks in Allergy during the 19th Century. 2014

A Barry Kay

Leukocyte Biology Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK.

There were remarkable achievements in the 19th century in our understanding of the cells of the allergic response, the clear descriptions of hay fever and asthma, as well as the role of pollen in seasonal rhinitis. Although allergy as a concept was not developed until well into the 20th century, the foundations of our present understanding of these diseases were laid in the 1800s. The outstanding physicians and scientists of this time included Paul Ehrlich (who described mast cells, eosinophils and basophils), John Bostock (who provided the first detailed account of hay fever), Charles Blackley (who showed that pollen was the cause of hay fever), Morrill Wyman (who demonstrated that autumnal catarrh was due to ragweed pollen), Henry Hide Salter (who made the first classic description of asthma) and Henri Laënnec (the inventor of the stethoscope).

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006967	Hypersensitivity	Altered reactivity to an antigen, which can result in pathologic reactions upon subsequent exposure to that particular antigen.	Allergy,Allergic Reaction,Allergic Reactions,Allergies,Hypersensitivities,Reaction, Allergic,Reactions, Allergic
D008407	Mast Cells	Granulated cells that are found in almost all tissues, most abundantly in the skin and the gastrointestinal tract. Like the BASOPHILS, mast cells contain large amounts of HISTAMINE and HEPARIN. Unlike basophils, mast cells normally remain in the tissues and do not circulate in the blood. Mast cells, derived from the bone marrow stem cells, are regulated by the STEM CELL FACTOR.	Basophils, Tissue,Basophil, Tissue,Cell, Mast,Cells, Mast,Mast Cell,Tissue Basophil,Tissue Basophils
D011058	Pollen	The fertilizing element of plants that contains the male GAMETOPHYTES.	Male Gametes, Plant,Male Gametophytes,Microspores, Plant,Plant Microspores,Pollen Grains,Gamete, Plant Male,Gametes, Plant Male,Gametophyte, Male,Gametophytes, Male,Grain, Pollen,Grains, Pollen,Male Gamete, Plant,Male Gametophyte,Microspore, Plant,Plant Male Gamete,Plant Male Gametes,Plant Microspore,Pollen Grain
D004804	Eosinophils	Granular leukocytes with a nucleus that usually has two lobes connected by a slender thread of chromatin, and cytoplasm containing coarse, round granules that are uniform in size and stainable by eosin.	Eosinophil
D006255	Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal	Allergic rhinitis that occurs at the same time every year. It is characterized by acute CONJUNCTIVITIS with lacrimation and ITCHING, and regarded as an allergic condition triggered by specific ALLERGENS.	Hay Fever,Pollen Allergy,Pollinosis,Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis,Hayfever,Allergic Rhinitides, Seasonal,Allergic Rhinitis, Seasonal,Allergies, Pollen,Allergy, Pollen,Fever, Hay,Pollen Allergies,Pollinoses,Rhinitides, Seasonal Allergic,Rhinitis, Seasonal Allergic,Seasonal Allergic Rhinitides
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000707	Anaphylaxis	An acute hypersensitivity reaction due to exposure to a previously encountered ANTIGEN. The reaction may include rapidly progressing URTICARIA, respiratory distress, vascular collapse, systemic SHOCK, and death.	Anaphylactic Reaction,Anaphylactoid Reaction,Anaphylactoid Shock,Shock, Anaphylactic,Anaphylactic Reactions,Anaphylactic Shock,Anaphylactoid Reactions,Reaction, Anaphylactic,Reaction, Anaphylactoid,Shock, Anaphylactoid
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001249	Asthma	A form of bronchial disorder with three distinct components: airway hyper-responsiveness (RESPIRATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY), airway INFLAMMATION, and intermittent AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION. It is characterized by spasmodic contraction of airway smooth muscle, WHEEZING, and dyspnea (DYSPNEA, PAROXYSMAL).	Asthma, Bronchial,Bronchial Asthma,Asthmas
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History