Alexander Schmidt (physiologist)

Alexander Schmidt (1831 - April 22, 1894) was a physiologist who was born on the Island of Mohn, which today is called Muhu, Estonia. In 1858, he received his medical doctorate from the University of Dorpat, and later was an assistant to Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895) in Berlin, and Carl Ludwig (1816-1895) in Leipzig. In 1869 he succeeded Friedrich Bidder (1810-1894) as professor of physiology at Dorpat, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Schmidt is remembered for his research involving the process of blood coagulation by demonstrating that the transformation of fibrinogen into fibrin was the result of an enzymatic process. He named the hypothetical enzyme "thrombin", and he called its precursor "prothrombin". Schmidt is credited for providing the foundation for the creation of anti-coagulation systems and the development of blood transfusion.