Ilya Egorovich Gruzinov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Илья Егорович Грузинов; 1781 – January 1813) was an Imperial Russian professor of anatomy and physiology at Imperial Moscow University. He discovered in 1812 that the actual source for a deep and pleasant vocal sound is the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

, which is a posterior wall of

trachea The trachea (: tracheae or tracheas), also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all animals' lungs. The trachea extends from ...

and

bronchi A bronchus ( ; : bronchi, ) is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus. Thes ...

Career

Gruzinov was born to a family of an ethnic Georgian priest of

Russian orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. He received Christian education, then studied at Imperial Moscow University and Saint Petersburg Academy of Physicians and Surgeons followed by studies in Western Europe. He worked as adjunct professor of anatomy (from 1809) and professor of anatomy and physiology (from 1811) at the Medical Department of Moscow University. After

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

in 1812 he began to help wounded soldiers in the Russian Army. Gruzinov made his discovery while dissecting dead bodies during and after the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

, and first described the audible properties of the membrane.Грузинов ИЕ (1812) ''“О новооткрытом месте происхождения голоса в человеке и других животных”'' Blowing air through, he found it to produce the sound, very similar to human

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

. He described this best himself: "Anatomizing the dead bodies, by inflating the windpipe and stretching the membranous posterior wall of trachea, I have managed to produce a perfect vocal sound without engaging the

vocal cords In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...

..." "Human voice is formed in the chest - in the bottom end of the windpipe (trachea), by means of the posterior membrane, attached to the cartilaginous cells..." Gruzinov died from

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

in January 1813.

References

External links

Buchel V. ''The Unknown discovery by a Russian anatomist''
Anatomists from the Russian Empire 1781 births 1813 deaths Biologists from the Russian Empire Academic staff of Imperial Moscow University Imperial Moscow University alumni S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy alumni Physiologists from Georgia (country) 19th-century scientists from Georgia (country) {{Russia-med-bio-stub