And m Sechenov owns labor. Ivan sechenov short biography. During his stay abroad, Sechenov struck up friendly relations with the future outstanding scientists S. Botkin, D.I.Mendeleev, A.P. Borodin, which lasted all his life

Ivan Sechenov is an outstanding Russian scientist. For the first time in history, he managed to substantiate the reflex nature unconscious behavior... Sechenov is the founder of the physiological school. Based on the results of many years of research, he proved that physiological processes in the body form the basis of mental phenomena. In addition, the scientist demonstrated that the physiology of an individual can be studied by objective methods.

Life and scientific activity of I. Sechenov

Ivan Sechenov was born in 1829 in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In 1848 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Military Engineering and Technical University, but a military career did not work out for him. Several years later, Sechenov retired with the rank of second lieutenant. At the same time, he entered the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University in the status of a free listener. The scientist attended lectures by T. Granovsky and P. Kudryavtsev, which allowed him to gain deep knowledge in the field of culturology and pedagogy, history, philosophy, theology and medicine.

After receiving his doctorate in 1856, Sechenov went abroad to study physiology. In 1856-1859 he worked in the Berlin laboratories of Müller, Dubois-Reymond and Hoppe-Seiler. Here the scientist prepared the following dissertation, the topic of which concerned the physiology of alcohol intoxication. He defended it in 1860 at the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. At the same time, he organized one of the first Russian physiological laboratories. In 1876-1888, Sechenov worked as a professor in the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Physiology at the Zoological Department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University. In 1901, the scientist retired, but continued his experimental work and teaching.

Outstanding services of Sechenov

By 1868, Ivan Sechenov finally formed his physiological school. In 1866 he published the book "Physiology nervous system”, Which is still used today as a foundation for studying the processes occurring in living organisms. The scientific work of 1879 "Elements of Thought" became a real revolution in the field of psychology. Before Sechenov, no one had succeeded in formulating so clearly the fundamental principles of human thinking.

The physiological laboratory organized by the academician, which worked at the Medical-Surgical Academy, was the largest research center. Here scientific research was carried out concerning not only physiology, but also pharmacology and clinical medicine. The course of lectures, which the scientist prepared during his work at Moscow University, became the basis of the work "Physiology of Nerve Centers", which was published in 1891. And in 1901, the scientist finished work on the "Sketch of the Labor Movements of Man." Before that, together with M. Shaternikov, the academician develops the principle of operation of a portable breathing apparatus. In 1902, Sechenov formalized his next work, Subject Thought and Reality.

In 1905, the life of the greatest scientist was cut short. But later, his works had significant influence on the development of such sciences as psychology and medicine, biology, natural science and general theory knowledge. At the same time, individual experimental developments of the academician were very useful in the gas transportation industry, as well as in the field of oil and gas production.

Founder of the Russian physiological school, ancestor of the era objective psychology, one of the most prominent figures in Russian medicine.

Nobleman by birth, Ivan Sechenov was born in 1829 into the family of a former military man. Being poor, his parents could only give him home initial training... Studied with him, mainly, his mother, who mastered reading and writing in a monastery before marriage. When the time came for Ivan to receive further education, his father died. In Ivan's family, 8 children grew up, of whom five had already become independent by that time. The rest, including Ivan, were minors. In view of the deteriorating financial situation of the family, it was decided to send Ivan to the Main Engineering School. The tuition fee was comparatively small, and the profession was promising. After graduating from it, Sechenov did not see the service as the work of his life and did not continue military career, and entered the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University as a volunteer. In addition to lectures on medicine, he attended a course in culturology, history, philosophy, theology and other disciplines for general development. And although the orders at the university were strict in a military fashion, Ivan Sechenov showed himself to be an exemplary and promising student.

As a person who received his first education in mathematical sciences, Ivan Sechenov gravitated towards precision in medicine. Not being satisfied with the empiricism of the then medical science, he began to develop in the field of physiology and scientific pathology. Instead of taking medicine examinations, he passed more difficult doctoral examinations and received his degree in medicine with honors. Russian medicine at that time lagged far behind Western, in particular, European. Therefore, after the death of his mother, Sechenov decided to go abroad to study physiology at the expense of the inheritance he received.

In Germany, Austria, he studied with the best professors, famous doctors, in particular, with... For several years Sechenov worked in the best laboratories in Europe. Abroad, he met with outstanding Russian talents - Botkin, Mendeleev, artists Alexander Ivanov, who is assisted in his work on the canvas "The Appearance of Christ to the People." The fruit of a comprehensive study and practice abroad was a doctoral dissertation researching the physiology of intoxication. Sechenov performed many experiments on himself. In 1860 he returned to St. Petersburg to defend his dissertation.

Becoming a professor at the St. Petersburg Medical Academy, Sechenov attracted with his lectures many not only medical students, but also people far from medicine. For example, Chernyshevsky and Turgenev attended his lectures on "animal electricity". Sechenov's lectures were so impressive that they were even published in the Military Medical Journal. Then these lectures were awarded the highest award of the Academy of Sciences, and Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences.

After 2 years, Sechenov left for Paris to work in the laboratory of Claude Bernard, the founder of endocrinology, a famous French researcher of internal secretion processes. The discovery made during this year's scientific leave was the identification of the process of central inhibition that occurs in the brain. The article "Reflexes of the Brain", published in the journal "Medical Bulletin" in 1863, was devoted to the description of this phenomenon. The article explained the mental behavior of a person in connection with external stimuli, and not a mysterious soul. Sechenov connected the reaction of the nervous system with reflexes, which he classified as simple and complex.

Physiologist Shaternikov, a colleague of Sechenov's, described the article as making "an amazing impression ... on all thinking society." And Pavlov, who considered the work the pinnacle of Sechenov's scientific work, called it "a brilliant wave of Sechenov's thought." The essence of the discovery was reduced to the ability of the brain to delay or inhibit excitation. This phenomenon has come to be called "Sechenov's inhibition." Sechenov conducted an experiment with a dog, which restricted access to smells, sounds and visual stimuli, as a result of which the dog was constantly sleeping.

The discovery in the field of psychology, which at that time was the diocese of religion, attracted the attention of the authorities and the church to the scientist. The censor of Sechenov's work wrote to the leadership: "... undermines religious beliefs and moral and political principles." His scientific publications began to be banned, and the clergy proposed to exile him for "pacification and pacification" in the Solovetsky Monastery. Worried about the fate of a world-renowned scientist, friends offered him lawyers who would best represent his interests in court. Sechenov wondered: “Why do I need lawyers? I will bring a frog with me and show the prosecutor all my experiments. Let him refute me. " The government did not dare to incur the shame of the world community and, in the end, allowed the printing of the work. However, the authorities' lack of confidence in political reliability remained in the outstanding Russian scientist for life.

One of the central works of Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov is Physiology of the Nervous System, published in 1866. In this work, the scientist proves the ability of human sensory systems to self-regulation and the existence of feedbacks between muscles and the reaction of the central nervous systems to the signals they send.

Sechenov actively advocated the equality of women and advocated for women's education. He allowed women to his lectures, at one time he even supervised their scientific work and psychophysiological research. Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov taught at women's courses in Moscow, and participated in the organization of the Higher Women's Courses. However, society was not ready to grant women the same rights as men. Sechenov strongly opposed gender discrimination. In 1870, another story happened, which was the last straw before the scientist's retirement. He recommended the outstanding scientists I.I.Mechnikov and A.E. Golubev as professor at the Academy of Sciences. However, they were blackballed. By his resignation, Sechenov protested against discrimination against women and out-of-ballot worthy scientists.

Sechenov went to St. Petersburg University to work in the chemical laboratory of D. I. Mendeleev, with whom they had been friends since their studies abroad. Then, from 1871 to 1876, he headed the Department of Physiology at Odessa University. In the next five years he returned to St. Petersburg to the Department of Physiology at the University. In parallel, the scientist taught at Moscow University, first as an associate professor, and then, since 1891, as a professor.

In the last two decades of his life, Secheno worked on a topic that does not seem so serious to the uninitiated - the respiratory function of the blood. In St. Petersburg, he basically completed his work related to gas exchange in the human body, laying the foundation for a whole direction in science. When in 1875 three daredevils soared into the air on the Zenith balloon, nothing foreshadowed a tragic death. Having risen in the air for 8 kilometers, two of them died from suffocation. At the congress of naturalists in 1879, Sechenov made a report in which he scientifically substantiated the cause of the death of two balloonists.

Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov was a talented scientist, had progressive views and advanced opinion. The authorities did not like his independence and independence of judgment, so at the end of his life the scientist had to leave for Leipzig to engage in research work, which he was deprived of in Russia. So for three years he worked abroad, and at home he only lectured. In 1891 he was invited to return to take the place of the late professor of physiology at Moscow University.

Without abandoning research on gas exchange, Sechenov designed several remarkable devices, in particular, a portable breathing apparatus, and continued to study neuromuscular physiology. In 1891, his main work was published, summarizing the main research and discoveries "Physiology of nerve centers", highly appreciated both in Russia and abroad. After 10 years, Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov retired and stopped teaching even in private courses. In 1901, his work "An Outline of the Workers' Movements of Man" was published, and three years later - "Subject Thought and Reality". In 1905, an outstanding Russian scientist passed away. His grave is in the Novodevichy Convent.

The works of I.M.Sechenov widely cover the most diverse spheres of science and life. His discoveries influenced psychology, medicine, natural science. Some of his researches formed the basis for developments in the gas transmission area and oil and gas production. The ideas of the great Russian scientist are still recognized as relevant in human rights movements, trade union associations, women's and workers' movements.

, humanist, educator, philosopher and rationalist thinker, creator of the physiological school; Honored Ordinary Professor, Corresponding Member of the Biological Category (-), Honorary Member () of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Chevalier of the Orders of St. Stanislaus I degree, St. Anna III degree, St. Vladimir Equal to the Apostles III degree.

Merit

He transformed physiology into an exact science and clinical discipline used for diagnosis, choice of therapy, prognosis, development of any new methods of treatment and drugs, protection of a person from dangerous and harmful factors, exclusion of any experiments on white people in medicine, public life, all branches of science and the national economy. In his classic work "Reflexes of the Brain" (1866), written for the journal Sovremennik, N.A. , which can be studied by objective methods, and which are determined by the interaction of cells, organisms and populations with the external (the basic biological law of Rul'e-Sechenov) and the internal environment. Censorship throughout the life of the scientist forbade the publication of the main conclusion of this work: "Only with the view I developed on human actions in the latter is the highest of human virtues possible - all-forgiving love, that is, complete descent to one's neighbor." Free will is manifested by the purposeful change by each individual person of his external and internal environment. The task of society is not to prevent a person from becoming a knight in this way. If modern physics, chemistry, mathematics cannot help humanity in this and / or explain the phenomena studied by psychology, physiology and biology, then physiologists themselves must create the necessary physical and chemical theories or set appropriate tasks for chemists and physicists. Acting as a defender of the traditions of classical medical education "on the side of the" ancient "(physicians-philosophers of antiquity) against the" new "" ("The Battle of the Books", Jonathan Swift) as an opponent of R. Virchow and supporters of his concept of "cellular pathology", for the first time in the world he formulated the doctrine of the anatomical and molecular principles of physiology, in the presentation of which, recognizing the decisive importance in normal physiology, which is the highest stage in the development of the anatomical principle of the cellular principle of R. Virchow, emphasized the importance of the molecular principle as the only possible general principle of (clinical) pathophysiology, since, in particular, differentiation of cells, the formation of organs and tissues, the exchange of signals between organs, tissues, individual cells are carried out in the environment of biological fluids, and usually pathological processes are interconnected with a change chemical composition these biological fluids. Rejecting the previously dominant doctrine of a comprehensive system of inhibitory nerves, he proved its absence and substantiated the theory of transmission of inhibition signals by changing the chemical composition of biological fluids, especially blood plasma. He investigated renal blood circulation, digestion, gas exchange in the lungs, respiratory function of blood, discovered the role of carboxyhemoglobin in respiration and in the venous system. He discovered the phenomena of lens fluorescence, central inhibition, summation in the nervous system, "Sechenov's reflex", established the presence of rhythmic bioelectric processes in the central nervous system, substantiated the importance of metabolic processes in the implementation of excitation. For the first time in the world he localized the center of inhibition in the brain (thalamic center of inhibition, Sechenov center), discovered the influence of the reticular formation of the brain on spinal reflexes. Together with his wife, he was the first to translate into Russian the composition of Charles Darwin "The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection" and was the largest popularizer of evolutionary doctrine in Russia. Creator of an objective theory of behavior, founder of modern molecular physiology, clinical pathophysiology, clinical laboratory diagnostics, psychophysiology, narcology, hematology, neuroendocrinology, neuroimmunology, molecular medicine and biology, proteomics, bioelementology, medical biophysics, medical cybernetics, aviation labor, space medicine, physiology age, comparative and evolutionary physiology and biochemistry. The herald ("uncle" as he called himself) of Russian cosmism, the synthetic theory of evolution and the creation of modern cellular technologies for the formation of artificial organs and the restoration of organs. Scientifically substantiated the need for active rest ("Sechenov effect") and the duration of the working day is no more than six, maximum eight hours. In addition, he established the law of solubility of gases in aqueous solutions of electrolytes. "... Physiology must recognize its undeniable father in the highly talented and equally original and bright personality of Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov," wrote the physiologist and historian of science K. A. Timiryazev. “… Not a single Russian scientist had such a broad and beneficial influence on Russian science and the development of the scientific spirit in our society…” Ivan Petrovich Pavlov also considered Sechenov “the father of Russian physiology”. Joseph Stalin in November named Sechenov among those who personify the spirit of the people, and for whom "brothers and sisters" should fight. Sechenov's works influenced the development of psychology, medicine, biology, natural science, oil and gas production, the gas transportation industry, the theory of knowledge, human rights, women's, workers' and trade union movements.

Biography

Abroad, Sechenov not only dispelled the notions that existed even among the best German scientists about the “inability of the round-headed Russian race” to understand modern physiology, but also prepared his doctoral dissertation “Materials for the future physiology of alcohol intoxication,” one of the first in Russian, which he successfully defended. in 1860 at the Medical-Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg, where by that time he had been transferred by vice-president I. T. Glebov. In the same year, at the invitation of I. T. Glebov, he began to work at the Department of Physiology of this Academy, where he soon organized a physiological laboratory - one of the first in Russia. For the course of lectures "On Animal Electricity" that amazed his contemporaries at the Medical-Surgical Academy - even such people far from medicine as I. S. Turgenev and N. G. Chernyshevsky attended it - he was awarded the Demidov Prize of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. At the beginning of 1862, he participated in the work of the Free University, then worked in Paris in the laboratory of the "father of endocrinology" Claude Bernard, this leave was possibly connected with the arrests among the people of his circle on the cases of the proclamations "Great Russia" and ". In his classic work "Physiology of the Nervous System" in 1866, he formulated in detail his doctrine of self-regulation and feedbacks, further developed by the theory of automatic control and cybernetics, Sechenov investigated the same problems during a year's leave in 1867 - officially regarding the treatment of skin allergies , possibly related to the appeal to the Senate of the Academician of the Medical-Surgical Academy Isidor with a request to exile Sechenov "for humility and correction" to the Solovetsky Monastery "for a prejudicial soul-destroying and harmful teaching." Most he spent this vacation in Graz, in the laboratory of his Viennese friend, physiologist and histologist, Professor Alexander Rollet (1834-1903). While working at the Academy, he took part in the organization of a scientific research marine biological station in Sevastopol (now).

Sechenov translated a lot, edited translations of books by foreign scientists in the field of physiology, physics, medicinal chemistry, biology, history of science, pathology, and he radically revised works on physiology and pathology and supplemented the results of his own research. For example, in 1867 Ivan Mikhailovich's manual "Physiology of the Senses" was published. Alteration of the composition "Anatomie und Physiologie der Sinnesorgane" von A. Fick. 1862-1864. Sight ”, and in -1872 under his editorship in Russia was published a translation of Charles Darwin's work“ The Descent of Man ”. The merit of I.M.Sechenov is not only the spread of Darwinism in Russia, where, for example, A.N. Beketov came to evolutionary ideas independently of Wallace and Darwin, but also the synthesis of physicochemical and evolutionary theories that he carried out for the first time in the world and the application of ideas Darwinism to the problems of physiology and psychology. I.M.Sechenov can rightfully be considered a predecessor modern development evolutionary physiology and evolutionary biochemistry in Russia.

The name of Sechenov is associated with the creation of the first All-Russian physiological scientific school, which was formed and developed at the Medical-Surgical Academy, Novorossiysk, Petersburg and Moscow universities. At the Medical-Surgical Academy, independently of the Kazan School, Ivan Mikhailovich introduced the method of demonstrating an experiment into lecture practice. This fostered a close bond pedagogical process with research work and largely predetermined the success of Sechenov on the path of creating his own scientific school.

The physiological laboratory organized by the scientist at the Medical-Surgical Academy was the center of research in the field of not only physiology, but also pharmacology, toxicology and clinical medicine.

Brain research. Central braking

Back in the "Theses" for his doctoral dissertation, Sechenov put forward a proposition about the originality of reflexes, the centers of which lie in the brain, and a number of ideas that contributed to the subsequent study of the brain.

The experiments were demonstrated by Sechenov to Bernard, in Berlin and Vienna to Dubois-Reymond, Ludwig and E. Brücke. The thalamic center of inhibition of the reflex reaction was called the "Sechenov center", and the phenomenon of central inhibition - the Sechenov inhibition. An article in which Sechenov described the phenomenon of central inhibition appeared in print in 1866. According to Charles Sherrington (), from that moment on, the assumption of the inhibitory effect of one part of the nervous system on another, expressed by Hippocrates, became an accepted doctrine.

In the same year, Sechenov published the work "Additions to the doctrine of nerve centers that retard reflected movements", in which the question was discussed whether there are specific retarding mechanisms in the brain or the action of inhibitory centers extends to all muscular systems and functions. This is how the concept of nonspecific brain systems was first put forward.

Later he gave public lectures "On the Elements of Visual Thinking", which in 1878 were revised by him and published under the title "Elements of Thought". In -1882, Sechenov began a new cycle of work on central braking. He discovered spontaneous oscillations of biocurrents in the medulla oblongata.

Sechenov and psychology

Ivan Mikhailovich deeply studied various areas of philosophy and psychology, polemicized with representatives of different philosophical and psychological directions - P.L. Lavrov, Konstantin Kavelin, G. Struve. In 1873, "Psychological Studies" was published, combining "Reflexes of the Brain" (4th edition), objections to Kavelin and the article "Who and How to Develop Psychology." Sechenov applied psychology in pedagogical and social activities, participated in the work of new jury trials as a juror and was friends with many well-known judicial figures, was a conciliator in disputes between peasants and landowners. The most important contribution of Sechenov to psychology consisted in "... a radical shift of the starting point of psychological thinking from directly given phenomena of consciousness, which for centuries were considered the first reality for the cognizing mind, to objective behavior," wrote Mikhail Yaroshevsky. It was, in the words of Ivan Pavlov, "... truly for that time an extraordinary attempt ... to imagine our subjective world purely physiologically."

In the 1890s, Sechenov presented a series of works on the problems of psychophysiology and the theory of cognition ("Impressions and Reality"; "On Objective Thinking from a Physiological Point of View"), significantly reworking the theoretical and cognitive treatise "Elements of Thought".

Based on the achievements of the physiology of the sense organs and the study of the functions of the locomotor apparatus, Ivan Mikhailovich develops ideas about the muscle as an organ of reliable knowledge of the spatio-temporal relationships of things. According to Sechenov, sensory signals sent by a working muscle make it possible to build images of external objects, as well as to relate objects to each other, and thereby serve as a bodily basis for coordination of movements and elementary forms of thinking. These ideas about muscle sensitivity stimulated the development of modern theory of the mechanism of sensory perception. For the first time, "muscle feeling" (proprioception) was discovered by I.M.Sechenov long before the President of the British Royal Society (analogous to the Academy of Sciences) Sherrington, who recognized the priority of the "Russian scientist", but in 1932 he was solely awarded after the death of our genius, awarded only to living researchers Nobel Prize for the results obtained by him and I.M.Sechenov.

Sechenov defends a rationalistic interpretation of all neuropsychic manifestations (including consciousness and will) and the approach to the body as a whole, which was perceived by modern physiology and psychology. V. I. Lenin in his work "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism", formally directed only against the common friend of I. M. Sechenov and Karl Ludwig V. Ostwald, criticizing G. V. Plekhanov, declares the theory of conventional symbols of Helmholtz and Sechenov, which G. V. Plekhanov, agnosticism.

Memory

The grave of I.M.Sechenov at the Novodevichy cemetery

• On the initiative of Pavlov, who was not a student of I.M.Sechenov, but considered himself his follower and often met with him on the congresses of naturalists and doctors, under the Pavlov-led Society of Russian Physicians, starting from 1907, annual ceremonial meetings were held in memory of Sechenov. Speaking at a meeting dedicated to Sechenov's centenary on December 29, 1929, the year of his widow's death, Academician Pavlov emphasized: “Without Ivanov Mikhailovich with their dignity and duty, every state is doomed to perish from within, in spite of any Dneprostroi and Volkhovstroy. Because the state should not consist of machines, not of bees and ants, but of representatives of the highest species of the animal kingdom, Homo sapiens. "
• The village of Teply Stan, where Sechenov was born, now bears his name - Sechenovo. A local history museum named after Sechenov has been opened in the village, and a monument has been erected to him.
• Sechenov crater on back side The moon.
• Monument-bust to I.M.Sechenov in the garden in Leningrad (1935; sc.I.F.Bezpalov)
• The name of the scientist was assigned in 1955 by his alma mater - the former medical faculty of Moscow University - which is now called the First Moscow State medical university them. I.M.Sechenov. A bust monument was erected near the institute.
• It is named after him ().
• In honor of I.M.Sechenov, the Crimean Republican Research Institute of Physical Methods of Treatment and Medical Climatology named after I.M.Sechenov of the Ministry of Health of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Yalta is named. On the initiative of A.E. Shcherbak and N.A.Semashko, the former Romanovsky Research Institute of Physical Methods of Treatment, which arose in 1914 in Sevastopol, in 1921 was named after the great Russian physiologist I.M.Sechenov as a symbol of the fact that his ideas were the fundamental basis for elucidating the reflex mechanism of the influence of physiotherapeutic and climatic factors on the body. I.M.Sechenov came to the Professors' Corner and to the village of Lazurnoye.
• In Yalta - boarding house named after Sechenov
• In the city of Essentuki - sanatorium named after I.M.Sechenov
• Since 1944, a memorial medal named after I.M.Sechenov has been awarded in the USSR. Since 1992, the Russian Academy of Sciences has awarded Gold medal named after I.M.Sechenov to domestic scientists for major theoretical work in the field of physiology.
• In 1956, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR established the I.M.Sechenov Prize, awarded to scientists for outstanding work in the field of physiology. V different years its laureates were physiologist V.N. Chernigovsky, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR E.M. Kreps, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of State prizes of the USSR and Ukraine P.G. Kostyuk, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Professor A. B. Kogan other.
• Sechenov Russian Physiological Journal
• St. Petersburg Society of Physiologists, Biochemists, Pharmacologists named after I. M. Sechenova
• A bas-relief with a portrait of I. M. Sechenov (1955) is placed at the Tekhnologicheskiy Institut-I metro station in St. Petersburg
• In Odessa, on the building of the Odessa National University, where the scientist worked, a memorial plaque was installed with the inscription: In this building in 1871-1876. the great Russian physiologist Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov worked.
• In 1955, Poluektov Lane in Moscow, where the scientist lived, was renamed Sechenovsky.
• Sechenov Street in Kiev, where he served in the engineer battalion.
• Sechenov Street in Minsk
• Sechenov Street in Astana
• Sechenov Street in Tashkent
• Sechenov Street in Bishkek
• Sechenov Street in Astrakhan
• Sechenov Street and Sechenov Lane in Voronezh
• Sechenov Street in Liski
• Sechenov Lane in Borisoglebsk
• Sechenov Street in Rostov-on-Don.
• Sechenov Street

The fate of Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov, an outstanding scientist-physiologist, was not easy. In his biography, successes were replaced by failures, but at each stage life path the scientist invariably remained true to himself, to his ideals and principles. He tirelessly fought for the light of science and reason, for enlightenment, even if the censorship branded his works as "dangerous" and "undermining moral foundations." Rich scientific heritage Ivan Mikhailovich is of interest to specialists from all over the world to this day.

Childhood and youth

Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov was born on August 13 (old style - 1st), 1829 in the village of Teply Stan, Kurmysh district, Simbirsk province. The scientist's father was a small-scale nobleman Mikhail Alekseevich Sechenov.

In the past, he served in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, and after retiring, he settled in the estate with his wife and children. Among the neighbors, Mikhail Alekseevich was known as a black sheep - after a man married a serf peasant Anisya Yegorovna, the local nobility looked down on him.

The wife gave Sechenov 8 children, of whom Ivan was the youngest. Until the age of 14, the boy never left his native village. He grew up in a predominantly female environment. The older brothers studied in the city, and there were no comrades of his age among their peers. The parents were going to send their son to the Kazan gymnasium, to the brothers, but due to the death of his father, the financial situation of the family was shaken. Therefore, Ivan studied at home, a village priest and a governess became his mentors.

In 1843, Sechenov Jr. went to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Main Engineering School. Within its walls, the young man mastered physics, chemistry, mathematics and other sciences. After completing his studies, in 1848, Ivan Mikhailovich was assigned to serve in the Kiev sapper battalion. However, the young man soon realized that the local way of life was not for him. He was abhorred by the cruelty of the military, the servility of the lower ranks to the elders. In 1850, Sechenov resigned.

Ivan Mikhailovich spent some time at home, in Teply Stan. And in the fall of the same 1850 he left for Moscow. In the capital, the young man became a volunteer at the medical faculty of Moscow University. In the summer of 1851, having become proficient in anatomy, botany and Latin, he passed the entrance exam and joined the ranks of students. At first, under the influence of Professor Fyodor Inozemtsev, he tended to surgery. However, already in his senior years, Sechenov made a choice in favor of physiology.

In 1856, the young man had to pass the final exams. Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Nikolai Anke suggested that the talented student take not ordinary, but doctoral exams. They, of course, were more difficult and obliged the graduate to write and defend a thesis. Sechenov agreed and soon passed his doctoral exams together with fellow students Eduard Junge and Pavel Einbrodt.

After that, Ivan Mikhailovich, perfectly realizing that he had only learned the basics at Moscow University, decided to go abroad. He renounced his father's inheritance and, having received 6 thousand rubles from the brothers. compensation, went to Germany. There, the young man attended lectures by Johann Müller, Emile Dubois-Reymond and other prominent physiologists. In addition, he worked in laboratories, studying chemistry and doing experiments. Sechenov presented the results of his research in a scientific article that made him a name in the circles of European physiologists.

Medicine and scientific activity

In 1860, Ivan Mikhailovich defended his doctoral dissertation. The theme sounded as follows: "Materials for the future physiology of alcoholic intoxication." To understand the issue in detail, Sechenov independently constructed a "blood pump", the action of which clearly showed how alcohol affects the absorption of oxygen by the blood.

Ivan Sechenov

How alcohol is released from the body, what chemical processes it suppresses in the tissues, how under its influence muscle and nervous activity- the physiologist comprehensively covered all these topics in his work.

At the invitation of Professor Ivan Glebov, Sechenov began work at the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. His lectures, full of facts and the latest scientific data, aroused keen interest from the audience. One of the merit of Ivan Mikhailovich is that he was the first to emphasize the relationship between the organism and the external environment - this idea was reflected in the article "On plant acts in animal life" (1861).

In addition to physiology, in his writings Sechenov dealt with the pressing problems of biology, medicine and other sciences. In 1862, while in Paris, Ivan Mikhailovich worked in the laboratory of the French physician Claude Bernard. Here one of his main discoveries took place: the scientist proved that human nervous activity consists of two incessant processes - irritable and inhibitory. This phenomenon is called "central (or Sechenov's) inhibition." Sechenov outlined the details of the discovery in a work that saw the light of day in 1963.

Returning from abroad, Ivan Mikhailovich published a printed lecture "On Animal Electricity" (1963). For this work, the physiologist was awarded the Demidov Prize. The subsequent "Reflexes of the Brain" (1963) became a kind of pinnacle of Sechenov's works. Two parts of this essay were published in No. 47 and No. 48 of the Medical Bulletin. A separate edition was published in 1966.

The book, which refuted previous views on human mental activity, caused a scandal. According to the censorship, Sechenov's work undermined the religious, moral and political foundations. The circulation of "Reflexes of the Brain" was arrested, and they tried to bring a lawsuit against the scientist. Ivan Mikhailovich reacted calmly to the persecution, saying that if the case goes to court, he will demonstrate his experience with the frog to the judges and prove his case.

The government had to drop the charges against Sechenov and release the essay for free circulation. However, until the end of his life, Ivan Mikhailovich remained "on the notice" of the tsarist government. His Scientific research were subjected to rigorous study and, in addition to academic censorship, were transferred for consideration to a higher censorship committee. In 1869, Sechenov recommended a professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy and, when he was blacklisted, resigned in protest.

Subsequently, Ivan Mikhailovich worked at Novorossiysk, St. Petersburg and Moscow universities. In 1891, at his home university, he took up the post of professor of the Department of Physiology. At the same time, the scientist did not stop leading scientific work doing experiments.

He researched psychology, physiology of muscle activity and physiology of labor, physical chemistry of blood gases. In 1901, Sechenov resigned, retaining the right to use the physiological laboratory. A photograph of 1902 has survived, in which a physiologist was captured for an experiment in studying the rhythm of the muscles of the arm.

Personal life

In 1848, while in Kiev, Ivan Mikhailovich became a frequent visitor to the house of a certain doctor. There he met the daughter of the owner of the house, a young widow Olga Alexandrovna. Sechenov remembered her as an extraordinary, well-read person, an intelligent and lively companion. It is not surprising that the young man soon began to have romantic feelings for her. Ivan understood that his love was unlikely to be mutual, nevertheless, he took the news of Olga Alexandrovna's new marriage painfully.

Sechenov later noted that this episode prompted him to retire and get a university education. It is interesting that Ivan Mikhailovich met his wife, advocating for the availability of female education in Russia. Back in 1861, Maria Aleksandrovna Bokova and her friend Nadezhda Prokofievna Suslova, as volunteers, attended the scientist's lectures at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Both women were about to take matriculation exams, and Sechenov willingly helped them with their preparation.

Maria was married. Both she and her husband Pyotr Ivanovich Bokov became close friends with the physiologist. Sechenov often stayed at their house. When both students passed the exams successfully, Ivan Mikhailovich became the guest of honor at the celebration organized in honor of the “graduates”.

In 1862, the scientist left for Paris, but his communication with Bokova and Suslova did not stop. Women sent him detailed reports on their scientific research, while Sechenov sent in response detailed analyzes of their mistakes and achievements.

Soon after Ivan Mikhailovich's return to Russia, it became clear that he and Maria were connected by a feeling much deeper and more cordial than simple friendship. Bokova's husband, a truly understanding and noble man, did not create obstacles for people who love each other. Moreover, when Sechenov and his chosen one were married in a civil marriage, Pyotr Ivanovich remained a sincere friend of their family.

In 1864, a law was passed prohibiting women from studying at the academy and engaging in scientific activities. Ivan Mikhailovich's students had to leave their studies. Wanting to continue their studies, Suslova and Bokova-Sechenova went to the University of Zurich (Switzerland). Returning to Russia, Maria took up medical practice, in addition, together with her husband, she translated a number teaching aids in medicine and physiology.

According to contemporaries, Sechenov was happy in his personal life. Their union with Mary was based not only on love, but also on a community of interests. The couple spent the summer months in Klepenino, a tiny village near Rzhev, which Bokova-Sechenova inherited from her parents. In a letter to Nadezhda Suslova, the physiologist's wife shared the details of their rural recreation: during the day they traveled around the surrounding forests and fields, spent their evenings reading.

Death

Sechenov died on November 15 (2), 1905. The cause of death was croupous pneumonia. Only the closest people saw off Ivan Mikhailovich on his last journey. They did not arrange a magnificent funeral for the professor, who made a colossal contribution to world science - such was the will of the deceased.

At first, his grave was located at the Vagankovsky cemetery, then the ashes were transferred to Novodevichye. In memory of the outstanding physiologist, a prize was established; a number of institutions (for example, the Moscow Medical Institute) and streets bear his name. And the native village of Ivan Mikhailovich, Teply Stan, is now called Sechenovo.

Proceedings

• 1861 - "On plant acts in animal life"
• 1863 - "On Animal Electricity"
• 1866 - "Reflexes of the Brain"
• 1879 - "Elements of Thought"
• 1888 - "On the absorption of CO2 by solutions of salts and strong acids"
• 1891 - "Physiology of the nerve centers"
• 1895 - "Physiological criteria for setting the length of the working day"
• 1896 - "Impression and Reality"
• 1901 - "An Outline of Human Labor Movements"
• 1902 - "Subject thought and reality"