Who was Walter Cannon?

Walter Bradford Cannon (1871-1945) was a notable American physiologist. His scientific achievements include the first use of barium to visualize the gastrointestinal tract; the elucidation of the role of the autonomic nervous system in response to external stimuli (coining the idea of a ``fight or flight'' response); the treatment of shock; and early work on hormonal influences on nerve conduction (see Benison and Barger, 1978

). Most relevant here is his enunciation of the concept of homeostasis --- self-regulation in biological systems (popularly described in The Wisdom of the Body

) --- and his extension of the mechanical metaphors introduced by Harvey

to biochemical and physiological systems.

The Wisdom of the Body, Walter B. Cannon, 1939. Second edition, W. W. Norton, New York.

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