Ivan Pavlov

Facts

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904

Born: 14 September 1849, Ryazan, Russia

Died: 27 February 1936, Leningrad, Russia

Affiliation at the time of the award: Military Medical Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia

Prize motivation: "in recognition of his work on the physiology of digestion, through which knowledge on vital aspects of the subject has been transformed and enlarged."

Prize share: 1/1

Work

Through the digestive process, the body extracts nourishment and energy from food. Ivan Pavlov studied the various processes of digestion, in part by exposing sections of a dog's intestinal canal through surgery. During the 1890s he identified ways in which different parts of the body, through the nervous system, affect movements in the intestinal canal as well as secretion of gastric juice and other secretions. He also pointed out the significance of psychic factors, such as hunger's ability to activate secretion of gastric juice. Furthermore, he demonstrated the sensitivity of gastric mucosae to various chemical substances.

To cite this section
MLA style: Ivan Pavlov – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Fri. 18 Jun 2021. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1904/pavlov/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Learn more

Nobel Prizes 2020

Twelve laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2020, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from the formation of black holes and genetic scissors to efforts to combat hunger and develop new auction formats.

See them all presented here.
Nobel Prizes 2020 graphics

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.