History of the Department

The discipline of animal physiology at the CU Faculty of Science was established in 1945 by Prof. Karel Wenig. Over the ensuing decades, the original Institute of Animal Physiology has undergone several organizational transformations and today’s Department of Physiology is carrying on the tradition established by several important scientific figures who worked here including Prof. František Sládeček (developmental biology), Prof. Václav Kubišta (energy metabolism in muscles) and Prof. Ladislav Janský (energy metabolism in mammals with respect to thermoregulation). Other outstanding individuals who worked here in the past include Doc. Karel Šilink (founder of the Institute of Endocrinology in Prague), Dr. Radan Beránek (pioneer of nerve system electrophysiology at the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences) and Prof. Helena Illnerová (founder of chronobiology here).  Another important scientific figure currently active at the Department of Physiology is Prof. František Vyskočil (neuromuscular transmission). With its publishing and international collaborations, the Department of Physiology has steadily gained recognition both at home and abroad.