Dimitar Orakhovats is a Bulgarian medical physiologist. He was a professor and later an academician at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
He dedicated years of his life to science.
He was born in 1892 in Lovech to the family of Dr. Petar Orakhovats, who was a strict man and a long-time director of the National Health. The family moved to Sofia.
As a student at the school on "Moskovska" street, the director Stanimir Stanimirov saw Dimitar Orakhovats climbing out of a window on the upper floor risking to fall down. "I was in shock when the director came to our house in the evening, rang the bell and my father opened the door," said Stanimirov. As soon as he entered, he said to his father, "Today I slapped Mitko in school." The strict father asked: "Did you only hit him once, couldn't you have hit him again?" After that, the parent invited the guest to sit down and ordered his wife to make two strong coffees.
The future academic was studying medicine in Munich, but the outbreak of the Balkan War in 1912 interrupted his studies. He returned to Bulgaria and volunteered in the military-sanitary service of the Red Cross. He also participated in World War I.
In 1919, he returned to Munich to continue his studies. He graduated as a doctor and defended his doctoral thesis under the guidance of Professor Hugo Kemerer.
Dimitar Orahovatz's academic career began as an assistant at the clinic of Prof. Mollov, and later became an assistant in the department of physiology and physiological chemistry. In 1927, he was already an associate professor and head of the department.
He was a fair man. During the entrance exams for prospective students, there was a practice of drawing lots between two students with the same score, and the winner would be accepted. But in such cases, Orahovatz allowed both candidates with the same score to be accepted and enrolled. He liked to say: "Where 100 people can be educated, one more can be taught!"
For the first time in our country, he demonstrated during lectures experiments on animals - frogs, rabbits, cats, pigeons and dogs. His students witnessed processes happening in a living organism and accordingly, they discussed and commented on them during the lecture. Orahovatz never rushed to conclusions. "One experiment or observation means nothing," he said.
Mr. Georgi, a devoted employee at the university building, decided to mark with a pencil a line on the door of a large cabinet in the hallway every time a body of an operated animal was taken out during the Orahovac hours. When the number of operated dogs reached a thousand, he stopped. The old cabinet was replaced with a new one and there was no longer any way to mark it.
The acquisition of animals for experiments and demonstrations during lectures caused a lot of difficulties for two employees who had to deliver them. They searched for dogs in the outskirts of Sofia, in the notorious "Gypsy quarter". The frogs were acquired in the fall by another two employees for a small fee. Orahovac would take out one or two levs from his jacket pocket to buy the jumping animals. Then they were placed in a special concrete tank. During the cold weather, they would freeze and become frail. But when the temperature warmed up, they would thaw and start jumping around.
There was also the problem of burying the bodies of the dogs. In the capital, there was no crematorium, so there was no way to incinerate them. There was only one solution, but it was illegal. To bury the bodies in the small courtyard of the faculty. It was certain that there would be trouble with the neighbors in the nearby apartment complex, as well as with the head of the "Cleanliness Department" in Sofia, who protested not only against the dogs, but also against bringing bodies into the anatomy rooms. Burials were only done at night, when it was dark.
One employee from the hygiene department, who was unaware of this secret, decided to plant some greenery in the courtyard. But when he dug up the soil, it was right where they buried the dogs. There was still a little left until it reached the bones. But a man was found to stop it and the courtyard of the university remained unattractive.
During the bombing of Sofia, the Department of Physiology and Physiological Chemistry was evacuated to the village of Osmo Kalugorovo at that time. With the acquisition of animals for experiments, there were no longer any difficulties. Uncle Georgi collected frogs and bought dogs at a low price. The bodies of the operated animals were taken to the waters of the Osam River, which passed by the village. Prof. Orahovats continued his experiments there. Prior to that, the students were evacuated to their hometowns, but they gathered for lectures in the village of Osmo Kalugorovo. During one lecture, an air raid alarm was given and everyone had to leave the school, where the department was evacuated to. The teacher and students went to the field. The lecture on the thyroid gland continued outdoors while American planes were flying overhead.
The conditions in which Orahovats was conducting his experiments were extremely poor. There was no equipment, the government provided minimal funding and he had to pay for everything out of his own pocket. At one point, his wife even brought soap and towels from home for cleaning up after surgeries.
Along with one of his assistants, Dimitar Orahovats built a machine called an oncograph. It determined the quantity of blood flowing through internal organs at a given moment. With this equipment, Orahovats made many of his discoveries.
At that time there were no printed textbooks and Orahovets translated a textbook by Hoeber into Bulgarian, which students have been using for years.
He possessed a gift for words and spoke respectfully to his students. He always stood tall in front of the lectern. Sometimes he had notes in front of him, but hardly ever looked at them. Occasionally a daring student would complain that Orahovets spoke in a high style and they couldn't understand him. And he would reply, "There are comedians there, they speak in a simple language!"
His exams were not easy. His questions were written on tickets, about three or four of them. During the exam session, everyone diligently prepared and received the highest grade, very good 5. Orahovats held on to his theory in his discipline and paid less attention to the practical exam, which was also not easy, but asked easy practical questions. One of them was related to measuring blood pressure. Sometimes Orahovats joked with a student: "Colleague, did you get 200 for it?"
He is liked by the students. He is careful in communicating with them, and is not formal. The door of his office is always open to anyone who has questions for him in the field of physiology and medicine. He talks to them about everyday issues, tells stories about the Balkan War, when he was a doctor and volunteer in Dedeağaç. He often organizes trips for them.
In 1924, the students of Sofia University went on strike against the high fees. But when Orahovats enters the practical exercise room for biology and chemistry, she sees that only three students have shown up. Then he kicks them out of the room, saying: "Your colleagues are on strike, what are you doing here?"
Academician Dimitar Orahovac was elected dean of the Faculty of Medicine for nine consecutive years. From 1945 to 1947, he was also the rector of Sofia University. He became the scientific secretary of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). He was also the director of the Institute of Physiology at BAS. His administrative responsibilities took up a large part of his time. As a result, he was unable to write a textbook for his students despite having a contract with the publishing house "Medicine and Physical Education".
He is recognized abroad - a member of the Physiological Society in the United Kingdom and an honorary member of the Berlin Medical Society.
18527 | 18 Oct. 2024 | 10:33
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