Erlanger, Joseph (1874-1965), an American physiologist, carried out important studies that helped identify the functions of different fibers in the same nerve. In 1922, Erlanger was working with fellow American Herbert Gasser when they succeeded in amplifying the electronic impulse passing through a single nerve fiber. This achievement enabled them to analyze the impulse on a cathode-ray oscilloscope (an instrument for displaying varying electric voltage or current). In 1932, Erlanger and Gasser discovered that different fibers conduct impulses at different speeds depending on their thickness. The two scientists also found that different fibers required a different level of stimulus to form an impulse. This research showed that different kinds of nerve fibers transmit different kinds of impulses, such as pain, pressure, or heat. In 1944, Erlanger and Gasser shared the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. See also Gasser, Herbert Spencer .
Joseph Erlanger was born in San Francisco. He studied chemistry at the University of California, and then medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. After his studies, he worked for the university’s medical school until 1906. He was later made professor of physiology at the medical school of the University of Wisconsin and, in 1910, he became professor of physiology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he stayed until his retirement in 1946.
