Did you know that Georges Hayem (1841-1933) is sometimes known as the father of modern haematology? Hayem, a famous French physician, perhaps slightly egotistical, is credited by many as providing the early insights into platelets in human blood. Although his observations were seminal, he proposed that platelets or as he called them, hématoblasts were precursors of erythrocytes. But he demonstrated that hématoblasts were biconcave discs and had a tendency to change shape, aggregate and to interact with fibrin strands. His observations relied on the development of microscopy and the writings of Alfred Donné; see (did you know? April 2022).
For many people Julio Bizzozero (1846-1901) is the real hero of human platelets. He graduated in medicine from the University of Pavia and later became director of the Institute of General Pathology in Turin. He worked with many famous people including Virchow. He published a monograph on platelets in 1868 using blood from bats. He called them ‘Plȁttchen’ and noted that the reaction of normal homeostasis and thrombosis were closely associated. He recognised that platelets were derived from bone marrow. He worked with bat wings and the rodent mesentery.
Undoubtedly the pioneering work of Alfred Donné was also helpful There has been a huge increase in our knowledge of platelet physiology, biology and pathology since the 19th century and many of the contributions were not made by haematologists. As Max Wintrobe said; ‘The final product represents an interdependency of many disciplines and that the contribution of one to another is not always obvious or predictable’.
Read more: Blood Pure and Eloquent, Maxwell M. Wintrobe. 1980. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-071135-6.
