page_title: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) by Gösta Florman (1831–1900) Eesti: Foto Alfred Nobelist (1833–1895) Português: Foto de Alfred Nobel a mais de cem anos (1833–1896) Русский: Данный рисунок был также использован для иллюстрирования статьи «Нобель, Альфред» опубликованной в семнадцатом томе «Военной энциклопедии», который был издан книгоиздательским товариществом Ивана Дмитриевича Сытина в 1914 году в столице Российской империи городе Санкт-Петербурге. Подробное описание к этой фотографии можно прочесть в указанной выше статье на сайте Русской Викитеки.
context_page_description: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Foundation for outstanding discoveries in the fields of life sciences and medicine.
  One of five prizes bequested in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, it is an award for scientific progress through laboratory discoveries in experimental physiology.
  The Nobel Prize is presented annually on the anniversary of Nobel's death, 10 December. As of 2019, 110 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 207 men and 12 women. The first one was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil von Behring, for his work on serum therapy and the development of a vaccine against diphtheria. The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Gerty Cori, received it in 1947 for her role in elucidating the metabolism of glucose, important in many aspects of medicine, including treatment of diabetes.
  The prize consists of a medal along with a diploma and a certificate for the monetary award. The front side of the medal displays the same profile of Alfred Nobel depicted on the medals for Physics, Chemistry, and Literature; the reverse side is unique to this medal.
context_section_description: Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden, into a family of engineers. He was a chemist, engineer and inventor who amassed a fortune during his lifetime, most of it from his 355 inventions, of which dynamite is the most famous. He was interested in experimental physiology and set up his own labs in France and Italy to conduct experiments in blood transfusions. Keeping abreast of scientific findings, he was generous in his donations to Ivan Pavlov's laboratory in Russia and was optimistic about the progress resulting from scientific discoveries made in laboratories.
  In 1888, Nobel was surprised to read his own obituary, titled "The merchant of death is dead", in a French newspaper. As it happened, it was Nobel's brother Ludvig who had died, but Nobel, unhappy with the content of the obituary and concerned that his legacy would reflect poorly on him, was inspired to change his will. In his last will, Nobel requested that his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, economics and literature. Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died at the age of 63. Because his will was contested, it was not approved by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) until 26 April 1897.
  After Nobel's death, the Nobel Foundation was set up to manage the assets of the bequest. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by Swedish King Oscar II. According to Nobel's will, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, a medical school and research center, is responsible for the Prize in Physiology or Medicine.    Today, the prize is commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
caption: Nobel was interested in experimental physiology and set up his own laboratories.
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