Famous Swedish Physicians

A Swedish physician, academic, and public speaker, Hans Rosling was the co-founder of Gapminder Foundation, that is known for the development the Trendalyzer software system. He gave several talks/lectures, presented television documentaries like Don’t Panic: The Truth about Population and also co-authored a bestselling book titled Factfulness. Additionally, he was a professor of international health at Karolinska Institute too.

Eva Andersson-Dubin is a Swedish physician and former model. She is best known for founding the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai Hospital's Tisch Cancer Institute in New York City. Prior to her medical career, Eva Andersson-Dubin worked as a model. In 1980, she won the Miss Sweden contest.

Axel Munthe was a Swedish-born psychiatrist and medical doctor. He is best remembered for writing an autobiographical work titled The Story of San Michele. Munthe often risked his own life to offer medical help during war, plague, and disaster. He also treated the poor without charge. Axel Munthe was also a well-known animal rights activist.

Torsten Wiesel is a Swedish neurophysiologist whose work on ocular dominance columns along with David Hubel earned them the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Torsten Wiesel is also a human rights advocate whose work with non-governmental organizations earned him the David Rall Medal. He is also a founding member of a nonprofit establishment called the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization.

Swedish pharmacologist Arvid Carlsson’s research work establishing dopamine as a significant neurotransmitter in the brain resulted in the development of drugs for Parkinson’s disease. In the year 2000, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work. During his career, he was also awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine, the Japan Prize and Italy's Feltrinelli Prize.

Per-Ingvar Brånemark was a Swedish professor and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern dental implantology, Brånemark is best remembered for his contributions to the field of osseointegration. Per-Ingvar Brånemark is credited with founding the Brånemark Osseointegration Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1989.

Allvar Gullstrand was a Swedish optician and ophthalmologist. He is best remembered for winning the 1911 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study of the refraction of light in the human eye and of optical images. Allvar Gullstrand is also remembered for his research on astigmatism. Gullstrand also served as a professor at the University of Uppsala.

Swedish professor of anatomy Anders Retzius is best remembered for his ground-breaking research on craniometry, or the human skull. He was associated with the Karolinska Medic-Kirurgiska Institutet in Stockholm. A Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences member, he was also the father of renowned Swedish physican Gustaf Retzius.

Gustaf Retzius was a Swedish anatomist and physician. He is best remembered for researching the histology of the nervous system and sense organs. He published over 300 scientific works in embryology, anatomy, eugenics, zoology, craniometry, and botany. Gustaf Retzius was also socially and politically active; he is credited with establishing the Hierta-Retzius foundation.

Lars Gyllensten was a Swedish physician and author. He started his career as an associate professor of histology at the Karolinska Institute from 1955 to 1973. In 1973, he left the institute to focus solely on his career as a writer. Few of Lars Gyllensten's literary works have been translated into German, French, and English.