History of the Department

With the founding of the Faculty of Medicine in Plovdiv in 1945 Prof. P. Nikolov is assigned the organization of the Department of Physiology and the lecture course of the students is led by Professors P. Petkov (Physiologist at the Sofia University) and B. Yurukov (from the Department on internal diseases).

In 1947 was elected Head of the Department – Assoc. Zavalov, who left in 1951. The temporary management was entrusted to Professor L. Telcharov (from the Department of Pathophysiology) and the medical course –

Prof. T. Gotsev (from the Department of Physiology – Sofia) and Ch. assistant – Dr. N. Boshev.

In 1955 N. Boshev was elected as Associate Professor and Head of the Department.

Since 1962, he has been a professor until 1980 when he retired, and to a lesser extent then formed the image of the department in and out of the Medical Faculty of the then Higher Medical Institute.

After the Discovery of the Faculty of Dentistry (1968), he is Associate Professor

elected Dr. A. Nikolova-Boneva, who from 1980 to 1985 was also the head of the Department.

Head of Department of Physiology from 1947 to 1985:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. V. Zamavlov (from 1947 to 1951), Prof. Dr. N. Boshev (from 1955 to 1980), Assoc. Prof. A. Nikolova-Boneva (from 1980 to 1985) .).

Since 1985 the head is Assoc. Prof. I. Popov. In 1986, as associate professor at

The department was appointed Dr. Hr. Hristov, who heads the Department from 1998 to 2004. In 2004, Dr. N. Boyadzhiev was elected Head of the Department of Physiology. In 2011, Assoc. Prof. Boyadjiev was elected Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and in 2014 as a Professor.

Head of the Department of Physiology since 1985 – Assoc. Prof. Dr. I. Popov (from 1985 to 1998), Assoc. Hristov (from 1998 to 2004), Prof. N. Boyadzhiev (from 2004 -)

Over the years, as assistants in the department have worked: Dr. P. Bratanov, Dr. K. Kavrakova, M. Tsvetkova, Dr. Vl. Pavlov (later Professor and Head of the Department of Oto- rhynology and Laryngology at the Medical Institute in Sofia), Dr. Mac Vantov (later Professor and Head of Clinic at NICNP – Sofia), Dr. B.

Polynarev (later professor at NICNP – Sofia), Dr. Z. Zaharieva (later Dr. Ioannina Kocheva at the Radioimmunoassay Center of the Medical Institute), Dr. L. Kochev (later Associate Professor and Dean of the Branch of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Pazardjik), Dr. Hr. Gaidadjiev, km, Dr. V. Kostov, dr., B. Trifonov, dr., Dr. Yves. Stoyanov (psychologist), L. Ivanova (psychologist).

The Department of Physiology at the Medical University in Plovdiv has an enviable tradition in scientific work. Initial developments are on the superior nervous activity, somatovasceral relationships and regulation of

vegetative functions. The first chambers for conditional reflexes in Bulgaria were constructed – Hannike (1951) and Kupalov (1955). B. Poholrev’s early interests in biocidebenetics led to the introduction of his methods in the processing of medical information by a team led by Prof. N. Boshev. A number of devices and the first in the country computer programs for the diagnosis of domestic and child diseases, as well as diseases in the field of

obstetrics and gynecology. Many of them have been recognized as inventions and used in the development of symptomatic diagnostic guides on internal diseases.

The development of ergonomic science in Bulgaria is carried out with the significant participation of specialists from the Department, manifested in numerous publications in this field.

The teaching process at the Department is always maintained at a very high level. It is practically and clinically targeted. It is done in Bulgarian and English. In addition to students in the fields of Medicine, Dentistry (parallel to Bulgarian and English) and Pharmacy (to obtain a Master’s degree), the Department also teaches

students in the specialties: “Nursing” and “Midwife” (for

Bachelor’s Degree “), as well as students from the Medical College in the following subjects:” Rehabilitator “,” Clinical Laboratory “,” Assistant Pharmacist “,” X-ray Technician “,” Zubotechnik “,” Public Health Inspector “. From the 2015/16 academic year, students from two new specialties – “Instructor Public Health” and “Medical Cosmetics” – were also trained.

The Department has a rich illustrative film material and multimedia programs for the students’ training, used both in the lecture course and in the practical exercises. The department is also a pioneer in the introduction of the student test. The lecture course is continuously updated through the introduction of new multimedia and interactive forms of teaching every year.

The lecturers of the Department participated in writing dozens of textbooks and teaching aids in physiology for students of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, including English.

Since 1978 the Department of Physiology has created a sports medicine sector. During the first five years he was functionally integrated with the Clinical Dispensary for Sports Medicine – Plovdiv. Head of the sector is Prof. Sv. Savov, and as assistants were used: Dr. Iliev, Dr. Tomov, Dr. Karadzhov, Dr. Batinov, Dr. N. Boyadzhiev. From 1985 to 1995, the sector is the only place in the country where post-graduate qualification of doctors in sports medicine is carried out.

Until now, a dissertation for awarding the doctorate of science has been defended in the Department of Physiology and 10 dissertations for awarding the doctoral and educational degree. With the participation of members of the Department, 20 monographs, over 30 textbooks and practical guides and over 600 publications and scientific publications in our and foreign magazines and collections were published.

In the period 2010-2015 the research work in the Department is concentrated in the following main directions:

– Study of adaptation changes in the body during physical exercise

– Study the effects of using different physical loads in experimental models and patients with various diseases.

– Studies on the metabolism specificities of various diseases and the possibilities for optimizing it through various dietary effects as an element of the healing strategy.

– Examine the side effects of misuse of various doping substances.

– Investigation of various pharmacological substances on microcirculation.

For the 2010-2015 period, lecturers from the Department have published over 50 original scientific papers, 10 of which are in foreign journals, some of which have a high IF (Blood, Eur Resp J, Neuropsychopharmacol, etc.). Over the same period, the scientific output of the Department received over 60 citations, 55 of which by foreign scientists, mostly in prestigious magazines with an impact factor. At various scientific forums, lecturers from the Department have delivered over 50 scientific papers, of which 20 are at international congresses. The members of the Department are leading researchers or participants in seven research projects, of which one international and one interuniversity (in cooperation with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). Habilitated lecturers from the Department are members of editorial boards of scientific journals and reviewers of scientific projects and articles in our and foreign scientific journals.

The academic staff of the department in the jubilee year 2015 includes: Prof. Dr. N. Boyadjiev, PhD, Head of the Department, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Y. Nikolova, PhD, Assoc. Prof. K. Georgieva, PhD, Prof. P. Angelova, PhD, Dr. D. Sarafov, Dr. Zl. Iliev, Dr. V. Vassilev Dr. I. Damianov, Dr. D. Popov, Dr. M. Bachelova, Dr. M. Hadjieva, Dr. P. Hrischev; In the department are working also the laboratories: K. Kutsova, L. Shuteva, M. Dimova, G. Raynova; Worker Scientific Apparatus – Hr. Georgiev and the hygienists – G. Vasileva and D. Cholakova.