The Life and Scientific Work of a Prominent Russian Physiologist and Educator, N. K. Vereshchagin (1893–1962)

Abstract

The article is devoted to Nikolai Konstantinovich Vereshchagin, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, who belonged to the world-famous scientific school of Sechenov and Shaternikov, as well as to his colleagues and coauthors. Our objective is to examine the results of Vereshchagin’s scientific experiments in the field of nutrition physiology and metabolism, conducted together with M. N. Shaternikov and to summarize the results of the experimental studies in exercise physiology and vocational physiology, carried out by Vereshchagin together with his pupils. Special attention is given to Vereshchagin’s works on circulatory physiology during static muscular load, in particular, to the studies of static effort phenomenon, known in physiology as Linhard – Vereshchagin phenomenon. The theory of central cortical inhibition of physiological functions during physical fatigue, formulated by Vereshchagin together with his pupil V. V. Rozenblat, is explained. Vereshchagin’s biography is based on the archival records and on the recollections of his granddaughter, T. V. Viktorova, and Professor A. L. Azin, Doctor of Medical Sciences. The photographs presented in the article illustrate his personal and scientific biography and are introduced for scientific use for the first time. The facts systematized and presented in the article are important for the preservation of scientific and teaching traditions of the physiological schools in Moscow, Kursk, and Yekaterinburg.