The Acid-Base balance history (Part I)

In the History of Medicine, the Acid-Base balance is unusual in that it has undergone constant evolution, not merely and not so much as a result of the progress of knowledge in physiological and physiopathological and clinical fields - which is common to all fields of Medical Science, but rather in relation to its very biochemical foundations, as was demonstrated by P. Stewart’s recent critical review and the reviews of J. Corey and J.A. Kellum, which are still valid today - and this is rather unusual. Although it started centuries ago, the history of the acidbase balance has experienced a slow and difficult evolution, and modern concepts almost exploded a couple of decades into the 20th century. It is therefore with even greater wonder and admiration that we look back on the pioneering intuitions of scholars such as R. Boyle, J.B. van Helmont and A.L. Lavoisier, to mention but a few of the scientists who laid the foundations for current knowledge in this fascinating chapter of physiology and clinical practice that belongs transversally to all medical and clinical disciplines.