On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel’s will, one part was dedicated to “the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine”. Learn more about the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to 2024.

Number of Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

115 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on nine occasions: in 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941 and 1942.

Why were the medicine prizes not awarded in those years? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: “If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds.” During World War I and II, fewer Nobel Prizes were awarded.

Shared and unshared Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

40 medicine prizes have been given to one laureate* only.
36 medicine prizes have been shared by two laureates.
39 medicine prizes have been shared between three laureates.

Why is that? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: A prize amount may be equally divided between two works, each of which is considered to merit a prize. If a work that is being rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them jointly. In no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons.

Number of Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine

229 individuals have been awarded 1901-2024.

List of all Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicinene

Youngest medicine laureate

Oldest medicine laureate

Female Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine

Of the 229 individuals awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 13 are women. Of these 13, Barabara McClintock is the only one who has received an unshared Nobel Prize.

List of all female Nobel Prize laureates

Multiple Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine

No one has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine more than once. Yet …

List of multiple Nobel Prize laureates within other prize categories

Posthumous Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

There have been no posthumous Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize has only been awarded posthumously twice: to Dag Hammarskjöld (Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).

Following the 2011 announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, it was discovered that one of the medicine laureates, Ralph Steinman, had passed away three days earlier. The Board of the Nobel Foundation examined the statutes, and an interpretation of the purpose of the rule above lead to the conclusion that Ralph Steinman should to remain a Nobel Prize laureate, as the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet had announced the 2011 Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine without knowing of his death.

Family Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine

Married couples

Gerty Theresa Cori, née Radnitz

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947 for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

Carl Ferdinand Cori

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947 for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

May-Britt Moser

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.

Edvard I. Moser

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.

Father & son

Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1929 for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes.

Ulf von Euler

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1970 for their discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.

Sune K. Bergström

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1982 for their discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.

Svante Pääbo

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.

Brothers

Jan Tinbergen

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1969 for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes.

Nikolaas Tinbergen

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1973 for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns.

Forced to decline the Nobel Prize

Two Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry have been forced by authorities to decline the Nobel Prize. Adolf Hitler forbade three German Nobel Prize laureates from receiving the Nobel Prize – two of whom were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Richard Kuhn in 1938 and Adolf Butenandt in 1939. The third person, Gerhard Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1939. All of them could receive the Nobel Prize diploma and medal later, but not the prize amount.

Nobel Prize laureate partnerships in biomedical science

Many long scientific partnerships have resulted in Nobel Prizes:

List compiled in 2012, courtesy of Joseph L. Goldstein.

Nominations for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

In the nomination database, you can find interesting nomination trivia, for example, that the Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was nominated 32 times for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, but never awarded. In 1929, the Nobel Committee for Medicine engaged an expert who concluded that a further investigation in Freud was not necessary, since Freud’s work was of no proven scientific value. Freud was also nominated once for the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature by Nobel Prize laureate Romain Rolland, an acquaintance of Freud.

The nominations for the Nobel Prizes are kept secret for 50 years.

Explore the nomination database for the Nobel Prizes

The Nobel Prize medal in physiology and medicine

The Nobel Prize medal in physiology and medicine was designed by Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg and represents the Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap, collecting the water pouring out from a rock in order to quench a sick girl’s thirst.

Read more about Nobel medal in Physiology and Medicine

The Nobel Prize diplomas

Each Nobel Prize diploma is a unique work of art, created by foremost Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers.

More about the Nobel Prize diplomas

The Nobel Prize amount

Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 2,2 billion) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.” The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

The Nobel Prize amount for 2024 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.

More about the Nobel Prize amount

*Why “laureate”?

Why are the individuals and organisations awarded a Nobel Prize called Nobel Prize laureate? The word “laureate” refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the god Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. A laurel wreath is a circular Crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel (in Latin: Laurus nobilis). In Ancient Greece, laurel wreaths were awarded to victors as a sign of honour – both in athletic competitions and in poetic meets.

More facts on the Nobel Prizes

• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physics
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize
• Facts on the prize in economic sciences
• Facts on all Nobel Prizes

First published 5 October 2009.