M.A. Morokhovets, Candidate of Technical Sciences

The article tells us about the life of Professor L.Z. Morokhovets, whose work was closely connected with the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Morokhovets’ professional activities were devoted to the service of Russian medicine. To promote Russian science abroad, he founded the Journal of Physiology, which was published in German and French. A significant part of Morokhovets’ scientific and educational activities took place in close collaboration with I.M. Sechenov. As a result, the merits of Morokhovets’ contributions in the development of medical science, medical education and Russian social thought were forgotten, having been overshadowed by Sechenov. Morokhovets was the author of works on the physiology and biochemistry of digestion, and the founder and organizer of the Physiological Institute’s new building at Moscow University, which he equipped with the most advanced facilities for its time. He was the founder of the Museum of Medicine at Moscow University and the author of Russia’s first fundamental guide to the history of medicine. In 1901, Morokhovets proposed to delegate the university’s medical faculty as an independent institution and reasoned his idea. The moral and ethical aspects of doctors’ work were relevant for Morokhovets. He assigned a special place to the role of the physician in society. On the basis of archival material, the author managed to establish new facts from Morokhovets’ biography. It has been demonstrated that the construction of a scientific station on Crimea’s Kara-Dag was a result of the joint activity of two scientists – T.I. Vyazemsky and Morokhovets. Previously it was thought that Morokhovets only provided financial support for its construction. In addition, information has been given about the circumstances of Morokhovets’ resignation from the post of head of the department of physiology at Moscow University, and the date of scientist’s death has been verified.

Keywords: L.Z. Morokhovets, physiology, history of medicine, medical ethics

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Published in Vol. 3. №4, 2015