Adolf Beck (physiologist)
Encyclopedia
Adolf Beck was a Polish
Jew, physician of and professor of physiology
at the University of Lemberg.
He was born on 1 January 1863, in Cracow, Galicia, of poor parents. During his academic career Beck supported himself as a private tutor
. Upon graduating with distinction from the gymnasium of his native city in 1884, he entered the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. In 1888, while still a medical student, Beck gained the prize of the university by a paper on the excitability of a nerve
, afterward published under the title, "O pobudliwości różnych miejsc tego samego nerwu" (On the Excitability of a Nerve at Different Points). In 1890 he received the degree of M.D.
, and in the same year published the results of his extensive research on electrical processes in the brain. His papers on this subject, "Die Bestimmung der Localisation des Gehirn- und Rückenmarksfunctionen Vermittelst der Electrischen Erscheinungen," 1890, and "Weitere Untersuchungen über die Electrischen Erscheinungen des Hirnrinde der Affen und Hunde," 1891 (in collaboration with Napoleon Cybulski
), attracted wide attention in Germany
, France
, and England
, and won for him a prominent position among students of physiology.
In 1889 Beck was appointed assistant in the physiological laboratory of the University of Cracow; and he remained in this position until 1894, when he became privatdocent on the presentation of his thesis "Ueber die Physiologie der Reflexes." In the following year he was offered a chair of physiology as associate professor in the newly created medical department of the University of Lemberg, and in 1897 was appointed professor in the same institution.
Beck has received many marks of distinction from medical societies in recognition of his scientific investigations. His numerous contributions, published in German and in Polish, belong almost exclusively to the domain of physiology. To the investigations represented by these publications should be added the extensive work of research conducted on similar lines in the Physiological Institute of the University of Lemberg under Beck's immediate supervision.
Beck was a member of the Polish Academy of Learning
. He was the first physiologist awarded with the Medal and a title of an Honorary Member of the Polish Physiological Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Fizjologiczne).
He committed suicide in August 1942 in Janowska Nazi camp.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Jew, physician of and professor of physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
at the University of Lemberg.
He was born on 1 January 1863, in Cracow, Galicia, of poor parents. During his academic career Beck supported himself as a private tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
. Upon graduating with distinction from the gymnasium of his native city in 1884, he entered the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. In 1888, while still a medical student, Beck gained the prize of the university by a paper on the excitability of a nerve
Nerve
A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
, afterward published under the title, "O pobudliwości różnych miejsc tego samego nerwu" (On the Excitability of a Nerve at Different Points). In 1890 he received the degree of M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, and in the same year published the results of his extensive research on electrical processes in the brain. His papers on this subject, "Die Bestimmung der Localisation des Gehirn- und Rückenmarksfunctionen Vermittelst der Electrischen Erscheinungen," 1890, and "Weitere Untersuchungen über die Electrischen Erscheinungen des Hirnrinde der Affen und Hunde," 1891 (in collaboration with Napoleon Cybulski
Napoleon Cybulski
Napoleon Cybulski was a Polish physiologist and one of pioneers of endocrinology and electroencephalography. The discoverer of adrenaline, he was the first to isolate and identify the substance in 1895.-References:...
), attracted wide attention in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and won for him a prominent position among students of physiology.
In 1889 Beck was appointed assistant in the physiological laboratory of the University of Cracow; and he remained in this position until 1894, when he became privatdocent on the presentation of his thesis "Ueber die Physiologie der Reflexes." In the following year he was offered a chair of physiology as associate professor in the newly created medical department of the University of Lemberg, and in 1897 was appointed professor in the same institution.
Beck has received many marks of distinction from medical societies in recognition of his scientific investigations. His numerous contributions, published in German and in Polish, belong almost exclusively to the domain of physiology. To the investigations represented by these publications should be added the extensive work of research conducted on similar lines in the Physiological Institute of the University of Lemberg under Beck's immediate supervision.
Beck was a member of the Polish Academy of Learning
Polish Academy of Learning
The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning , headquartered in Kraków, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences....
. He was the first physiologist awarded with the Medal and a title of an Honorary Member of the Polish Physiological Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Fizjologiczne).
He committed suicide in August 1942 in Janowska Nazi camp.
Works
- "Researches on the Sense of Taste in a Tongueless Human Being" (with Napoleon Cybulski) (in Polish) 1887
- "Die Ströme der Nervencentren," 1890
- "On the Present State of the Theory of Localizing the Functions of the Brain," (in Polish), 1892
- "Hermann Helmholtz " 1894
- "On the Vital Processes and Methods for Their Investigation," (in Polish), 1895; with Cybulski
- "Further Investigations on the Electrical Processes in the Brain" (in Polish), 1896
- "Dreams and Their Causes" in Polish, 1896
- "Die Erregbarkeit Verschiedener Nervenstellen" 1897
- "Zur Untersuchung der Erregbarkeit der Nerven" 1898
- "On Color-Blindness, Artificially Produced," in Polish and in German, 1899.
- "Zur Lehre Munk's über Beginn und Reihenfolge in der Ausbreitung der Bewegungen bei Rückenmarksreflexen, wie bei Tätigkeit der sogenannten „Prinzipalzentren“" 1910 (with Gustav Bikeles)
- "Die sogenannten Berührungsreflexe Munk's und die reflektorische Zehenbeugung bei Reizung der Fusssohle" 1910 (with Gustav Bikeles).