Boris Petrovitch Babkin FRS,

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

, D.Sc, LL.D (; 17 January 1877 – 3 May 1950) was a Russian-born

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

, who worked in Russia, England and Canada.

Career

Babkin graduated from the Military Medical Academy, St. Petersburg, with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1904. He held professorships at the Novo-Alexandria Agricultural Institute and the

University of Odessa The Odesa I.I.Mechnykov National University (), often referred to as Odesa National University ( ONU, ), located in Odessa, Odesa, Ukraine, is one of that country's major Public university, state-sponsored universities, named after the scientis ...

, before being imprisoned and exiled from Russia in 1922, due to his criticism of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. He then spent two years in England, working at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

under

Ernest Starling Ernest Henry Starling (17 April 1866 – 2 May 1927) was a British physiologist who contributed many fundamental ideas to this subject. These ideas were important parts of the British contribution to physiology, which at that time led the world. ...

, before joining

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

, Nova Scotia, as Professor of Physiology. In 1928 Babkin became a research professor at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Montreal, under Prof John Tait, where he spent the remainder of his career. He chaired the Physiology department between 1940 and 1941, following Tait's retirement, and, following his retirement, was invited to become

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

Neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

Wilder Penfield Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. ...

; a position he held until his death in 1950. In 1950, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

for "''his work on the digestive glands, conditioned reflexes and the cortical representation of autonomically innervated organs. He demonstrated that a) the three pancreatic enzymes are secreted in parallel, b) sympathetic and parasympathetic fibres innervate different cells in the salivary glands and c) histamine stimulates exclusively gastric parietal cells. His researches not only refuted Heidenhain's theory of "secretory" and "trophic" nerves but led to the conception of the elements of the digestive glands being activated by different nerves and hormones. Author of "Die aussere Sekretion der Verdauungsdrusen" and "Secretory Mechanism of the Digestive Glands"''" His personal papers are conserved at the McGill University Library in the collections of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine and the McGill University Archives.

Honours

* 1904, Doctor of Medicine, Imperial Military Medical Academy * 1924, Honorary Doctor of Science, University College London * 1943, Honorary Doctor of Letters, Dalhousie University * 1949, Friedenwald Medal,

American Gastroenterological Association The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is a medical association of gastroenterologists. Approximately 16,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization. Overview The American Gastroenterological Association is a prof ...

* 1950,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babkin, Boris 1877 births 1950 deaths Physiologists from the Russian Empire Soviet physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society White Russian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Russian descent Soviet emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Russian scientists S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy alumni