Gleb von Anrep (1890-1955). A student of Pavlov in the British Empire

<M. Marco Igual
Neurosciences and History 2021;9(1):23-36

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

M. Marco Igual
Neurology Department. Hospital Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain.

ABSTRACT

Gleb von Anrep (1890-1955) was a distinguished member of the British school of physiology. Born in Saint Petersburg, he studied under Ivan Pavlov in his early years, until emigrating to England in 1918. In London, where he collaborated with Ernest Starling, he published outstanding works on the cardiovascular function. In 1931, he moved to Egypt, where he remained until the end of his days. His most significant works within the Pavlovian school initially included studies dedicated to conditioned reflexes and the function of salivary glands and the pancreas. He also studied the cardiopulmonary and muscular circulation, metabolism, and the function of histamine, and conducted research into substances acting on the coronary circulation. Furthermore, he was Pavlov’s main interlocutor among English-speaking scientists, with whom his master had close contact despite not speaking their language. His translation and editing of the English-language version of the classic Pavlovian work on conditioned reflexes, which resulted from this relationship, is worth mentioning.

KEYWORDS

Gleb von Anrep, Ivan Pavlov, Ernest Starling, University College London, Cairo University, conditional/conditioned reflexes, cardiovascular physiology

Neurosciences and History 2021;9(1):23-36