Maximilian von Frey

Maximilian von Frey (November 16, 1852 - January 25, 1932) was an Austrian-German physiologist who was born in Salzburg. He received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig in 1877, and subsequently worked at Carl Ludwig's Physiological Institute in Leipzig. Later he was a professor of physiology at the Universities of Würzburg and Zurich.

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Frey's primary work in Leipzig dealt with the circulatory system, and he is credited with developing an early prototype of a heart-lung machine. He is mainly remembered for his work involving cutaneous sensory mechanoreceptors. During the 1890s, Frey postulated that the skin was comprised of an intricate mosaic of minute sensory spots regarding touch, coldness, warmth and pain. He also created a unique type of esthesiometer, now referred to as a Von Frey Hair, which consisted of various calibrated filaments. These filaments were used determine the theshold force required to produce the sensation of touch.

References

• Pioneer Neurophysiology
• Essay on Sensory Locations
• Von Frey Aesthesiometer