1874-1929

Austrian pediatrician who is known for his development of the term "allergy" and for beginning to scientifically study allergies. Pirquet noticed in 1906 that some of the young patients he treated for diphtheria—with an antitoxin based on a horse serum—developed symptoms not related to the original disease. He used the term "allergen" (from where we get allergy) to describe an "altered response" some patients had to such items as medications, food, or by breathing.