Claude Bernard, (born July 12, 1813, Saint-Julien, France—died Feb. 10, 1878, Paris), French physiologist. He taught at several major French institutions and was named a senator in 1869. He discovered the role of the pancreas in digestion, the glycogenic function of the liver in carbohydrate metabolism, and blood-supply regulation by the vasomotor nerves. He helped establish the principles of experimentation in the life sciences, including the need for a hypothesis. His concept of the internal environment of the organism led to the present understanding of homeostasis. Bernard also studied the effects of such poisons as carbon monoxide and curare. He was awarded the grand prize in physiology three times by the Académie des Sciences.
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