Bernardo Houssay won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role of the pituitary hormone in glucose metabolism.
Houssay showed that the anterior pituitary gland influences how the body regulates blood sugar. In experiments involving animals whose pituitary glands had been removed, he demonstrated altered diabetes symptoms and showed that pituitary hormones affect insulin action.
This work helped establish the endocrine system as an interconnected network rather than a collection of isolated glands. It also provided important evidence about the hormonal control of carbohydrate metabolism.
Houssay was the first Latin American scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in a scientific field. The 1947 Medicine prize also honored Carl Cori and Gerty Cori for their discoveries concerning the catalytic conversion of glycogen.