Paul Héger

Paul Marie François Xavier Heger, also spelled Héger (13 December 1846 – 8 November 1925) was a Belgian scientist. He is famous for his collaboration with the chemist Ernest Solvay to discover the Solvay Process. Alongside Solvay, he donated a large sum of money to fund Leopold Park and helped establish the Solvay Institute of Physiology and Institute of Sociology.

Additionally, he made substantial contributions to the understanding of blood circulation, especially in the context of artificial circulation, demonstrating that the vascular endothelium actively participates in circulation and osmosis, challenging the view of blood vessels as passive conduits. He also discovered that adding nicotine to circulating blood increases blood flow speed through living tissues.

Heger also made contributions to the understanding of liver function. He found that the liver significantly reduces alkaloid concentration in blood, highlighting its role in detoxification. Additionally, he showed that alkaloids are broken down into less toxic components within the liver, emphasising its purifying function and its capacity to locate and store poisons.

Early life and education Paul Marie François Xavier Heger was born to Constantin Heger and Claire Zoë Parent. His father was a famous professor who was known for his correspondence with Charlotte and Emily Brontë. This work brought to light some important physiological properties; one showed that the vascular wall does not play a passive role, but that its cells, its endothelium, actively participate in the phenomena of circulation and those of osmosis. It showed, on the other hand, that the organs crossed by a blood current are not passive, but rather their cells exert a selective action on the products that the nourishing liquid brings them.

Alongside Hubert Higgins, Heger conducted physiological experiments on digestion and noted that the soft palate of the mouth produces both positive and negative pressure. The soft palate of the mouth has the ability to make the mouth cavity airtight such that when food is swallowed in a gulp, the soft palate induces a backward motion in a phenomenon known as psomophagic swallowing. Conversely, he discovered that when food is finely masticated, the soft palate induces a forward motion known as poltophagic swallowing. His discovery was in support of anthropological evidence which states that the shortening of the upper jaw in combination with a vertical posture has given humans the ability to engage in both kinds of swallowing. These findings were popularised by American writer Horace Fletcher.

Career In 1889, he was appointed director of the Solvay Research Institute. During the First World War, he served as vice-president of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and held the position of president until 1924. His role as president was instrumental to the reform and expansion of the university. He played a key role in helping secure over 20 million francs from John D. Rockefeller and other sources.

Paul Heger died in Brussels on 8 November 1925, after being struck by a car. He is interred at Watermael-Boitsfort cemetery.