Opie, Eugene Lindsay

Opie, Eugene Lindsay

(born July 5, 1873, Staunton, Va., U.S.—died March 12, 1971, Bryn Mawr, Pa.) U.S. pathologist. He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Early in his career, he correctly deduced that degenerative changes in the islets of Langerhans caused diabetes mellitus and theorized that blockage of the junction of the bile and pancreatic ducts caused acute pancreatitis. He later showed that tuberculosis (TB) was spread by contact, including from one family member to another. His work led to use of X-ray films to detect asymptomatic TB, the sputum test to predict the chance of its spread, and injection of heat-killed tubercle bacilli to prevent infection.