Ivan P. Pavlov, son of a poor parish priest with liberal beliefs and a large family, was born in the ancient village of Riazan in central Russia. He subsequently became one of the brilliant natural scientists of Russia who did more than any other physiologist to quash the Cartesian belief that body and soul were separate entities. Pavlov's early education was gained in the Church; but at the age of 21, he left the seminary, prepared in the medical sciences at the University of St. Petersburg, and in his third year received a gold medal for his investigations on the pancreatic nerves.1
In 1875, Pavlov began the study of medicine at the Medico-Chirurgical (Military-Medical) Academy and served part-time as an assistant in the physiology laboratory of the Veterinary Institute. Late in 1879, he completed the medical curriculum, passed the state examinations, and became a licensed physician. Although Pavlov did