Within the field of physiology we must emphasize the physician August Pi i Sunyer, pioneer in the biochemical studies of the role of reflexes in the regulation of breath movements, as well as several studies on the regulation of blood sugar levels. He was very politically active, member of JAE during the Spanish Second Republic, president of the Chamber Music Association of Barcelona, and president (in 1918) of the Spanish Olympic Committee. During the Spanish Civil War he exiled to Venezuela, where he continued teaching physiology. In the same field it is also remarkable the role of the physiologist José Puche Álvarez, rector of the University of Valencia and General Director of Health issues during the Civil War. He studied the physiology of reflexes in the Sympathetic Nervous System as well as experimental electrocardiography. Both Puche and Pi i Sunyer jointly published a paper in 1924 titled “Première note sur le sympathique sensitif; l’innervation afférente de l’estomac”. Upon the end of the war José Puche was exiled in Mexico, where he continued an impassioned teaching career and contributed to the knowledge of how blood sugar levels are regulated during digestion. He also developed a meaningful humanitarian role from the Committee of Aid to Spanish Refugees in Mexico.
Fisiología con buenos reflejos
