Division of Physiology

Until the early 19th century, physiology was treated as a complementary subject to anatomy. Therefore, the establishment from the very beginning of the Faculty of Medicine of the department (institute) of physiology as an independent organisational and scientific unit should be regarded as an expression of a modern approach to medicine. With the anatomy institute, there was only a local connection – both departments were located in a post-monastery building near Plac Dominikański.

The appointment of Jan Evangelista Purkyně as the head of the institute was a great impetus for the development of physiology in Wrocław. He created physiology based on experimentation, which was a very innovative way of practising medicine at the time. In 1839, on Purkyně's initiative, new premises (also located near Plac Dominikański) were built for physiology – thus creating the world's first fully independent institute of physiology.

After several years of effort, Purkyně also succeeded in obtaining funding to purchase a microscope. This enabled fundamental discoveries to be made in physiology and histology: the cells of the cardiac pacemaker system, still today called Purkinje fibres, and the cells of the ganglionic layer of the cerebellar cortex (Purkinje cells). Purkyně also introduced a number of new histological techniques, including the embedding of slides in Canada balsam, which is still in use, and he also improved the microtome for tissue cutting. Later, following Purkyně's suggestions, the departments of experimental physiology, microscopic anatomy and physiological chemistry were separated in the institute - each department had a separate assistant conducting separate research work.

Another great personality was Rudolf Peter Heinrich Heidenhain, who took over the Institute of Physiology in 1859 at the age of just 25 and headed it for almost 40 years. Heidenhain had very broad scientific interests. He focused on the physiology of physical exertion and metabolism, discovered the secretion of salivary and gastric glands, and described rod-shaped mitochondria in renal tubules (known as Heidenhain rods). Among his pupils and assistants, Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer (1836-1921), later head of the department of anatomy in Strasbourg and Berlin, should be mentioned in particular. Waldayer defined terms such as “plasma cell,” “chromosome” and “neuron,” and the pharyngeal lymphoid ring is still named after him. Heidenhain's assistant, who associated his entire professional life with Wrocław, was Leopold Auerbach (1828-1897), the discoverer of the vegetative plexuses that regulate intestinal motility. Feliks Nawrocki (1838-1902), later head of the department of physiology at the University of Warsaw, was also a pupil and long-time assistant of Heidenhain.

A major contribution to the development of the Institute was made by Heidenhain's pupil and successor, Karl Hürthle, who headed physiology in Wrocław for the next 30 years. He was involved in muscle physiology and, above all, cardiovascular physiology. During his time, the institute was relocated to a building specifically designed for this purpose, where it still operates today. In the 1920s, the existing departments of the institute of physiology were transformed into independent organisational units by additionally creating the institute of physiological chemistry (now the Division of Medical Biochemistry) and the institute of microscopic anatomy (now the Division of Histology and Embryology).

Another prominent scientist was Hans Winterstein, who conducted research into physiological processes during general anaesthesia and artificial ventilation and the effect of carbon dioxide on the regulation of respiration. However, he only headed the institute for six years, as in 1933 he was forced to resign as both head of the institute and dean of the Faculty of Medicine due to his Jewish background. He emigrated to Turkey, where he created the chair of physiology at the newly founded Istanbul University, before returning to Germany in the 1950s and working in Munich for the rest of his life.

The Division of Physiology was established in the autumn of 1945 as a unit of the Faculty of Medicine of Wroclaw Medical University and Technical University. The first post-war years were very busy. The Division of Physiology, under difficult conditions (post-war damage, lack of adequate equipment for research and teaching), provided lectures and exercises for students of the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Higher School of Agriculture and the Higher School of Physical Education. In addition to this, the Division of Physiology also provided classes for students of the School of Feldshering and the School of Medical Laboratory Science.

The organiser and first head of the Division of Physiology was Prof. Andrzej Klisiecki – a physiologist from the Lviv school, a pupil and collaborator of Professor Beck at the Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the Jan Kazimierz University (1922-1928), and later a professor and head of the Department of Physiology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Lviv.

Professor Andrzej Klisiecki's main research areas were cardiovascular physiology and renal physiology. The research work and publications conducted in the Division of Physiology under the leadership of Professor Klisiecki focused mainly on the impact of climatic conditions on the human body. His contribution to the training of scientific staff cannot be overestimated, as his students and colleagues who worked in the Division of Physiology in the first years after the war (Grzegorz Załucki, Tadeusz Garbulinski, Bolesław Buła Edward Ziobro, Zbigniew Jethon, Marian Pytasz) soon became heads of independent departments and research institutions in Wrocław, Warsaw and Lublin. These include Grzegorz Załucki and Bolesław Buła – long-standing heads of the Department of Physiology at the Wrocław Agricultural University, Zbigniew Jethon – Commander of the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine and later head of the Division of Hygiene at the Wroclaw Medical Academy, and Edward Ziobro – Professor of Occupational Physiology at the Wrocław Technical University. Professor Andrzej Klisiecki was also succeeded by his student, Adam Gosk.

Prof. Adam Gosk headed the Division of Physiology from 1967 to 1997. During this time, in addition to continuing research topics in blood circulation physiology, research on work physiology was also developed. Under Professor Gosek's supervision, two of his close associates (Andrzej Paradowski and Witold Juzwa) obtained their habilitation degrees, who in the late 1970s became heads of independent Departments of Physiology at the Faculties of Medicine of the Medical Universities of Szczecin and Gdańsk, as well as Prof. Ludmiła Borodulin-Nadzieja, who in 1997-2015 was head of the Division of Physiology at the Wroclaw Medical Academy.

Prof. Ludmiła Borodulin-Nadzieja has worked at the Division of Physiology since 1969. Her doctoral thesis dealt with the influence of the working environment of the Polkowice mine on the state of the nervous system, assessed by measuring reaction times, and her habilitation dealt with the analysis of the speed and accuracy of human reaction under adverse working environment conditions. Professor Ludmiła Borodulin-Nadzieja is the author of more than 100 scientific works. The main focus of her research is work physiology: physical performance and psychomotor performance of workers in adverse working conditions. From 1993 to 1999, she served as president of the Wrocław Branch of the Polish Physiological Society.
She served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Didactics from 1993 to 1996 and as Dean of this Faculty from 1996 to 2001.

Important scientific achievements of the Division of Physiology in cardiovascular research include:

• determination of the extent of coronary blood flow changes under the influence of exogenous and endogenous catecholamines;
• development of a concept for the cardiovascular effects of nitrates and nitrites;
• assessment of neural and humoral control of cerebral blood flow;
• assessment of the contribution of the heart and blood vessels to the Cyon-Ludwig and Aschner reflexes;
• definition of the role of the heart and vessels in chemical shock;
• definition of the role of visceral nerves in the regulation of the circulatory system and their role in the dynamic distribution of circulating blood;
• renal physiology: studies on the nature of the renal threshold, excretion of nitrogenous bodies and phosphorus, the influence of the vegetative system and neurohormones on blood flow and electrolyte excretion, and studies on the effect of urea on cell membrane permeability and enzyme activity

Occupational physiology studies were carried out directly at workplaces in copper mines and involved assessing psychomotor performance and physical capacity, as well as assessing the blood circulation system among miners. This research was used to work out a programme for qualifying employees for jobs in terms of physiological requirements.

The information presented above indicates the supra-regional importance of the Wrocław physiological school originating from the Division of Physiology, which Professor Klisiecki organised in 1945. An expression of recognition of the institution's significance was the responsibility entrusted to it to organise the 20th Jubilee Congress of the Polish Physiological Society, which took place in 1996 chaired by Professor Ludmiła Borodulin-Nadzieja, who succeeded Professor Adam Gosek as head of the Division.

Heads of the Institute/Department of Physiology

• 1811 – 1821 August Bartels
• 1822 – 1850 Jan Evangelista Purkyně
• 1850 – 1853 Carl Theodor Ernst von Siebold
• 1853 – 1858 Karl Boguslav Reichert
• 1859 – 1897 Rudolf Peter Heinrich Heidenhain
• 1897 – 1927 Karl Hürthle
• 1927 – 1933 Hans Winterstein
• 1934 – 1939 Richard Wagner
• 1939 – 1945 Hans Schriever
• 1945 – 1967 Andrzej Klisiecki
• 1967 – 1997 Adam Gosk
• 1997 – 2015 Ludmiła Borodulin-Nadzieja
• 2015 – present Beata Ponikowska

• Prof. Beata Ponikowska – Mon: 10:00-11:00, Wed: 10:00-11:00;
• Agnieszka Buldańczyk, PhD – Mon: 10:00-11:00, Tue: 11:00-12:00;
• Agnieszka Sennicka, PhD – Tue: 13:00, Thu: 14:15;
• Bartłomiej Paleczny, PhD – Wed: 11:00-12:00, Thu: 14:15-15:15;
• Wojciech Woźniak, PhD – Mon: 8:00-12:00, Tue: 10:00-11:00;
• Rafał Seredyński, PhD – Tue: 12:00-13:00, Thu: 14:15-15:15;
• Małgorzata Wyciszkiewicz, PhD
• Dorota Adamiec, MA – Mon: 14:00-15:00, Fri: 11:00-12:00
• Wojciech Łopusiewicz, MSc – Mon: 13:00-14:00, Tue: 10:15-11:15
• Adrianna Nowicka-Czudak, MA:
• Anna Podsiadły, MA – Fri: 17:00-18:00;
• Tymoteusz Okupnik, MA – Mon: 11:00-13:00;
• Ewa Witkowska-Okupnik, MA – Mon: 14:15-15:15, Wed: 13:00-14:00

Laboratories in the Division of Physiology

Cardiopulmonary Reflexes Testing Laboratory
Head Bartłomiej Paleczny, PhD

In the Laboratory, testing is undertaken in the field of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology,
particularly autonomic reflex regulation. The equipment we have at our disposal allows for: non-invasive analysis of heart rate and blood pressure variability, assessment of arterial baroreceptor sensitivity, assessment of central and peripheral chemoreceptor sensitivity
and direct assessment of adrenergic activity (using microneurography technique).

The laboratory is used for scientific projects carried out by research and teaching employees and students who are members of the scientific association functioning at the Department of Physiology, as well as for didactic purposes.

Exercise Testing Laboratory
Head Wojciech Łopusiewicz, MSc

Exercise physiology tests are performed in the Laboratory. These are exercise spiroergometric tests using a treadmill or cycle ergometer, which record the response of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems to physical exertion and thus allow an objective assessment of physical fitness.

The laboratory is used both for teaching purposes and for scientific projects carried out by the research and teaching employees of the Division of Physiology.

Statutory activity

• Task ST.A090.17.046, 2017-2018 (head of the task: Prof. Beata Ponikowska): “Assessment of peripheral chemoreceptor reflex sensitivity in healthy subjects with respect to its variability and physiological basis in the context of selected aspects of lifestyle and interaction with other autonomic reflexes”

Young Researcher Grant:

• Project no: STM.A090.17.054, 2017-2018 (head: Bartłomiej Paleczny, PhD): Effect of transcutaneous electrostimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve on peripheral chemoreceptor reflex activity in healthy subjects

Grant within the Framework Programme of the European Union for Research and Innovation - Horizon 2020:

• Agnieszka Siennicka, PhD, is a key member of the scientific team in project no: 39/SMPN/H2020/2018, 2020-2023 (Head: Prof. Piotr Ponikowski): HeartBIT_4.0 – Application of innovative Medical Data Science technologies for heart diseases, https://heartbit40.com/.

Assistant Professor for Didactics
Wojciech Woźniak, PhD
room no. 6
tel.: 71 784 14 27
e-mail: wojciech.wozniak@umw.edu.pl

Syllabuses

https://sylabusy.umw.edu.pl/pl

Fizjologia WL

• 01.07.2024 godz 08:00-12:00 - I termin Egzaminu

1) sala wykładowa Patologii Klinicznej i Doświadczalnej

2) Sala wykładowa CNIM (Biblioteka) nr 209

3) Sala wykładowa CNIM (Biblioteka) nr 210

4) Sala wykładowa im. E. Biernackiego

5) Sala wykładowa Mikrobiologii

6) Sala wykładowa im. W. Brossa

7) Sala wykładowa Dermatologii

8) Sala wykładowa Biochemii

• 28.08.2024 godz 08:00-12:00 - II termin Egzaminu

1) Sala wykładowa Dermatologii

2) Sala wykładowa Mikrobiologii

3) Sala wykładowa Biochemii

• 04.09.2024 godzina 08:00-12:00 - Egzamin poprawkowy - sala wykładowa Biochemii

Fizjologia człowieka WL-S

• 11.06.2024 godzina 08:00-12:00 - Przedtermin - sala wykładowa Biochemii
• 24.06.2024 godz 08:00-12:00 - I termin Egzaminu - sala wykładowa Biochemii
• 29.08.2024 godz 08:00-12:00 - II termin Egzaminu - sala wykładowa Biochemii
• 10.09.2024 godzina 08:00-12:00 - Egzamin poprawkowy - sala wykładowa Biochemii

 The first retake exam for the Faculty of Medicine in Physiology will take place on 29 August 2023 at 8:30.

Dear Sirs,

with great pleasure we would like to inform you that our team for this year's 5th edition of the prestigious nationwide physiological knowledge competition “Great Synapse,” organised by the Polish Physiological Society, took first place in the team competition. The team composed of: Natalia Suchecka (2nd year), Julia Kokocińska (2nd year), and Barbara Sradomska (2nd year) defeated 14 teams from leading medical universities in Poland. Congratulations!

More information on the event's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088713146314

Dear Students,
 

We encourage all Physiology enthusiasts to join the Student Scientific Club at the Division of Physiology. If you have a researcher's or designer's “instinct” in you and would like to take part in scientific projects, or if you are not satisfied with the truncated and simplified picture of the “functioning” of the human body found in academic textbooks and would like to understand Physiology better, join our Student Scientific Club.

The inaugural meeting will be held in an online format, on Friday 21 October at 15:00, via ZOOM. Link to registration below:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqdOmvrDkrHdw07SZZxeGiGwXOjzGSKsrt

The meeting points include:
• election of a new management board,
• presentation of current research projects in which we envisage cooperation with students,
• collection of proposals for topics in the field of physiology in the broadest sense, which we will jointly “break down” at scientific meetings.
 

You are cordially invited,
 Bartłomiej Paleczny, PhD

Student Scientific Club of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Artificial intelligence methods are increasingly being used in medicine. The Student Scientific Club of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine brings together students and PhD students interested in the possibilities of applying information technology in medicine, who want to jointly explore methods of analysing and presenting medical data and programming with such data. The club's activities are of a scientific nature, which means that the methods of analysis developed and their results will be elements of scientific publications and conference presentations. 

Other scientific clubs are also encouraged to collaborate, especially those with large data sets.

Chair of the Student Scientific Club: Mateusz Lickindorf (mateusz.lickindorf@student.umw.edu.pl)

Supervisor of the Student Scientific Club: Agnieszka Siennicka, PhD (agnieszka.siennicka@umw.edu.pl)

Egzaminy Położnictwo:

Przedtermin 23.01 - godzina 12:00 Centrum Symulacji Medycznej Chałubińskiego 7a.
I termin 30.01 - godzina 11:45 Centrum Symulacji Medycznej Chałubińskiego 7a.
II termin 06.02 - godzina 8:30 Centrum Symulacji Medycznej Chałubińskiego 7a.
III termin 16.02 - godzina 8:30 Sala wykładowa Katedry i Zakładu Biochemii Lekarskiej Wrocław, Chałubińskiego 10

Wyniki egzaminu Pielęgniarstwo

Wyniki egzaminu Położnictwo

Ratownictwo medyczne. Egzamin poprawkowy - wyniki.

Subject 2023/2024: Physiology/Fizjologia 

Optional courses: 

1. The autonomic nervous system: Physiology, Testing, and Clinical Implications

2. Introduction to practical implementation of artificial intelligence in medicine/Wprowadzenie do praktycznego zastosowania sztucznej inteligencji w medycynie

Syllabus/ Sylabus 2023/2024: https://sylabusy.umw.edu.pl/en/faculty-of-medicine/english-division---faculty-of-medicine/uniform-ma-studies/full-time/2

Exam timetable/Kalendarz egzaminów: https://www.umw.edu.pl/pl/zarzadzanie-jakoscia-w-obszarze-ksztalcenia/kalendarz-egzaminow

Timetable/Plan zajęć: https://wu.umw.edu.pl/wu/extPages/prezentacja_harmonogramu_zajec/index.html?&locale=pl

CONSULTATION HOURS for ALL ED STUDENTS – winter semester 2023-2024

• dr Agnieszka Buldańczyk (agnieszka.buldanczyk@umw.edu.pl) - Wed:14.15-.15.15; Thu: 14.15-.15.15; 
• dr Agnieszka Siennicka (agnieszka.siennicka@umw.edu.pl) – Thu:11; Fri:10; 
• dr hab. Bartłomiej Paleczny (bartlomiej.paleczny@umw.edu.pl) - Wed:11.00-12.00; Thu:14.15-15.15; REMOTELY
• dr Rafał Seredyński (rafal.seredynski@umw.edu.pl)- Tue:12.00-13.00; Thu: 14.15-15.15; REMOTELY

   
Didactic Supervisor of ED
 
dr Agnieszka Buldańczyk
agnieszka.buldanczyk@umw.edu.pl
 
Head of the Division of Physiology
prof. dr hab. Beata Ponikowska

Subject 2023/2024: Human Physiology/Fizjologia człowieka

Syllabus/Sylabus 2023/2024: https://sylabusy.umw.edu.pl/en/faculty-of-dentistry/english-division---faculty-of-dentistry/uniform-ma-studies/full-time/2

Exam timetables/Kalendarz egzaminów: https://www.umw.edu.pl/pl/zarzadzanie-jakoscia-w-obszarze-ksztalcenia/kalendarz-egzaminow

Timetable/Plan zajęć: https://wu.umw.edu.pl/wu/extPages/prezentacja_harmonogramu_zajec/index.html?&locale=pl

CONSULTATION HOURS for ALL ED STUDENTS – winter semester 2023-2024

• mgr Tymoteusz Okupnik (tymoteusz.okupnik@umw.edu.pl): Mon: 11.00 - 13.00;

   
Didactic Supervisor of ED
 
dr Agnieszka Buldańczyk
agnieszka.buldanczyk@umw.edu.pl
 
Head of the Division of Physiology
prof. dr hab. Beata Ponikowska

EXAMS PHYSIOLOGY/EGZAMINY FIZJOLOGIA:
1st term - 24.06.2024;   at 12:00 p.m - 14:00 p.m

1st retake – 28.08.2024 
2nd retake – 04.09.2024 

EXAMS PHYSIOLOGY/EGZAMINY FIZJOLOGIA:

1st term - 24.06.2024;   at 12:00 p.m - 14:00 p.m

1st retake – 28.08.2024
2nd retake – 04.09.2024