Experimental research into the liver’s capacity to separate cholesterol from the blood led Austin Flint II to define stercorin, the substance identified as the odorous principle of feces. His scientific contributions bridged the mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, marking a period of intense physiological investigation that fundamentally reshaped medical understanding of human waste production and systemic bodily function.
Early Education and Professional Beginnings
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, on March 28, 1836, Flint belonged to a lineage of medical practitioners spanning six generations between 1733 and 1955. His father, Austin Flint I, was a founder of Bellevue Hospital. Flint completed his initial medical lectures at the University of Louisville from 1854 to 1856 and spent one year at Harvard Medical School before graduating from Jefferson Medical College in 1857. By the time he reached his early twenties, he was serving as the editor of the Buffalo Medical Journal and held the roles of surgeon at Buffalo City Hospital and professor of physiology at the University at Buffalo.
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Flint dedicated his career to experimental human physiology, specifically focusing on the liver and nervous system. His 1862 work, Experimental Researches into a New Excretory Function of the Liver, detailed the process by which the liver extracts cholesterol from the blood, ultimately converting it into what he termed stercorin. His extensive publication record includes The Physiology of Man, a text-book of human physiology, and studies on muscular exercise and power. He also explored renal anatomy, leaving his name to the arterial-venous arch structure known as Flint’s arcade.
Academic Appointments and Public Service
His career spanned several prominent institutions, including the New Orleans Medical College, New York Medical College, and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, where he taught for over three decades until 1898. Following the consolidation of Bellevue with New York University, he transitioned to a professorship at Cornell University Medical College. Beyond his academic work, Flint served as the Surgeon General of New York in 1874 and participated in the New York Prison Association. His administrative reach extended to presidencies within the New York State Medical Association and the Medical Association of the Greater City of New York.
Fast facts
- Born: March 28, 1836, Northampton, Massachusetts
- Died: September 21, 1915, Manhattan
- Education: Jefferson Medical College, 1857
- Surgeon General of New York: 1874
- Major research focus: Glycogenic function of the liver
- Burial site: Forest Hills Cemetery
- Decorated: Order of Bolivar (third class), 1891
- Family: Married Elizabeth B. McMaster, 1862
Questions readers ask
What is stercorin?
Stercorin, also known as coprosterol, is the substance identified by Flint as the odorous component of human feces.
Was Austin Flint II related to other doctors?
Yes, he was the son of Austin Flint I and the father of Austin Flint III, representing one segment of a medical family line that continued for six generations.
Achievements
- Held posts at New York University, University at Buffalo and Tulane University
- Fields: medicine and physiology
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