Adolf Eugen Fick

For the ophthalmologist, see Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick.

Adolf Eugen Fick (3 September 1829 – 21 August 1901) was a German-born physician and physiologist.

Adolf Fick
Adolf Fick (1829–1901)
Born	3 September 1829 Kassel, Electorate of Hesse
Died	21 August 1901(1901-08-21) (aged 71) Blankenberge, Flanders, Belgium
Nationality	German
Alma mater	University of Marburg
Known for	Fick's laws of diffusion Fick principle Imbert–Fick law
Scientific career
Fields	Physiology Biophysics
Institutions	University of Zurich University of Würzburg
Thesis	Tractatur de errore optico quodam asymetria bulbi oculi effecto (1851)
Doctoral advisor	Franz Ludwig Fick[1]
Doctoral students	Johann Jakob Müller,[1] Max Dessoir
Notes
He is the brother of Franz Ludwig Fick. He is the uncle of Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick who invented the contact lens.[2]

Early life and education

Fick began his work in the formal study of mathematics and physics before realising an aptitude for medicine. He then earned his doctorate in medicine from the University of Marburg in 1851. As a fresh medical graduate, he began his work as a prosector.^[3] He died in Flanders at age 71.

Career

In 1855, he introduced Fick's laws of diffusion, which govern the diffusion of a gas across a fluid membrane. In 1870, he was the first to measure cardiac output, using what is now called the Fick principle.

Fick managed to double-publish his law of diffusion, as it applied equally to physiology and physics. His work led to the development of the direct Fick method for measuring cardiac output.

Anecdotal

Fick's nephew, Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick, invented the contact lens.^[2]