Indian Journal of Physiology and Allied Sciences

The teaching of Physiology as basic science both at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels started under the University of Calcutta during the first decades of the 20th century followed by research. The Physiologists (both medical and non-medical) of the country have realized the need for further promotion of the subject and set up an independent organization of the physiologists and allied scientists in July 1934 as ‘ The Physiological Society of India’, Within a short period, the society became an all India organization of Physiologists and related scientists. The then outstanding achievement of the society was to introduce the publication of ‘The Indian Journal of Physiology and Allied Sciences’ that was published first time in January 1947 before India became politically independent.

The editors were N.M.Basu, B.B.Sarkar and N.N.Das in conjunction with B.Ahmad (Lahore), M.A. Basir (Madras), S.M.Banerjee (Cuttack), S.L.Bhatia (Assam), K.P.Bose (Dacca), W.Burridge (Lucknow), B.Narayan (Patna), R.K.Pal (Calcutta), S.A.Rahaman (Hyderabad, Deccan), K.C.Sen (Bangalore), P.B.Sen (Calcutta), Indrajit Singh (Hyderabad, Sind.)

The first issues contained forty-five (45) pages and included five original papers and an encouraging letter from Prof. A.V.Hill, the then Secretary of the Royal Society of England and also an honorary member of the Physiological Society of India that ‘the Journal will play a valuable part in encouraging of these sciences in India’. The details of the published five articles are:

N.N.Das: Effect of cardiac drugs on heart tissue explanted in vitro 5
N.M.Basu and G.K.Ray: Experimental studies on the Influence of thiamine (vitamin B1 ) on the inflow of phosphates into, and absorption of glucose from, the intestinal canal 9
B. C. Bose and B. Mukherjee: Observations on the Assay of Prolactin by the crop gland stimulation in Indian pigeons 27
K. Mukherjee and K.L. Mukherjee: Ascorbic acid content of garden rose hips 33
N. M. Basu and G.K.Ray: Influence of vitamin B1 on detoxication by Glucuronic acid produced in Liver 32

It was published and printed by Nibaran Chandra Das, Prabasi Press, Calcutta. The journal is published regularly in the month of January, April, July and October every year since then. It is the journal just after the ‘Indian Journal of Medical Sciences ‘since 1913 in the field of Medical Sciences in India.

India has celebrated Golden Jubilee of her independence in 1997, when the Editorial Committee of Indian Journal Physiology & Allied Sciences also published its ‘Golden Jubilee Issue’. The purpose of publishing this special issue was to record a landmark event and to express the determination to make further progress in the quality of the journal in coming years.

This special Golden Jubilee Issue contains invited oration from some outstanding scientists working in India and abroad with the hope that this issues of great importance, which would attract the attention of a large number of Physiologists and Allied Scientists working throughout the world. The contents of Golden Jubilee issue, 1997 are as follows:

CONTENTS Authors Page
Role of Cellular Action in the Transcription of Human Parainfluenza Virus type 3: In Vitro Studies with Recombinant Actin Sanhita Gupta, Bishnu P.De and Amiya Banerjee 1
The lungs: how they are protected from environmental assault (S. C. Mahalanabis Memorial Lecture,1997) John Widdicombe 12
Regulation of chemoreception in the carotid body: A brief review Sukhamay Lahiri 21
Maximum oxygen uptake & Anaerobic threshold consequent to chronic smoke exposure in firefighters Sankar N. Koyal, John G. Mohler, Ralph C. Jung, and Clarence R. Collier 26
Endogenous inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis T. Ramasarma 38
A healthy lifestyle in the elderly Per-Olof Astrand 48
Effect of acute ethanol ingestion on serum and liver glycosyl transferases in rats Uday Saxena, Joan Collins and Sailen Mookerjea 61
Insulin a potent antithrombotic hormone Asru K. Sinha 68
Flow cytometry and its use in studying hormonal control of testicular germ cell transformation and differentiation N. R. Moudgal and H. Krishnamurthy 74
Kala-azar: strategies for drug targeting and for new drug development Tanmoy Mukherjee and Amar Bhaduri 86

 

In his letter Prof. Hill also wrote ‘by setting and maintaining that high standard Indian Journal of Physiology and Allied Sciences will be able to do a real service both to science and to India’. To set and maintain the standard of the journal is the ultimate goal of the members of the Editorial Committee but without contribution of the workers in this and allied field as well as commendable reviewing/ editing of the articles by the reviewers found urgently important.

We would remain grateful to all for their cooperation who are associated with the journal activities directly and indirectly, and also to all those under whose generous contribution the journal is approaching towards its silver jubilee celebration with next five years.