Charles Sherrington

Sir Charles Scott Sherrington

["Neurophysiologist", "Nobel Prize in Medicine 1932", "Discoverer of the Synapse"]

Born Nov 27, 1857

Islington (London), United Kingdom

Passed Away Mar 04, 1952 Eastbourne (Sussex), United Kingdom

Lifespan 94 years old

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Notice / Correction

"The brain is an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a meaningful pattern, though never an abiding one."

Archival Overview

English neurophysiologist who won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Medicine for mapping the reflex functions of the central nervous system, coining the immortal terms 'synapse', 'proprioception', and 'motor unit'.

Biographical Record

Sir Charles Sherrington (1857–1952) graduated from Cambridge and served as professor of physiology at Oxford. Investigating spinal reflexes in mammals, Sherrington deduced that nerve cells do not form a continuous syncytial net, but communicate across microscopic gaps, coining the term 'synapse' in 1897.

His 1906 masterpiece 'The Integrative Action of the Nervous System' established modern neurophysiology, demonstrating reciprocal innervation (Sherrington's Law: when an agonist muscle contracts, the antagonist muscle is reciprocally inhibited). He also discovered muscle spindle proprioceptors, revealing how the body monitors its own position in space.

Key Life Milestones

1897

Introduction of the Concept of the Synapse

Coined the term 'synapse' to describe the functional junction between communicating neurons.

1932

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine

Shared the Nobel Prize with Edgar Adrian for discovering the integrative mechanisms of neurons.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

St Peter and St Paul Churchyard
Broomfield (Shropshire), United Kingdom

                         GPS: 52.3789, -2.7667                    

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