George Bernays Wislocki

Background

George Bernays Wislocki was born on March 25, 1892, in San Jose, California, the son of Stanislaus Wislocki, a Polish army officer, who died shortly before the birth of his son, and Lily C. Bernays.

Education

He received his education partly in America and partly in Europe, spending five years at a Hochschule in Heidelberg and graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a B. A. in 1912. He then attended the Johns Hopkins University Medical School and received his M. D. in 1916.

Career

After graduating he remained at Johns Hopkins as assistant in anatomy. During World War I he served as a first lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps. On returning from army service he went to Harvard as Arthur T. Cabot Fellow in charge of the Laboratory of Surgical Research but returned to the anatomy department at Johns Hopkins in 1920, where he remained for eleven years. In 1931, having become associate professor, he returned to Harvard, where he became, in turn, Parkman Professor of Anatomy (1931 - 1941), James Stillman Professor of Comparative Anatomy (1941 - 1956), and Hersey Professor of Anatomy (1947 - 1956).

Although primarily a placentologist, Wislocki did not limit himself to this field; anything that could throw light on the working of human cells was grist for his mill. His interest in placentation began early in his career with a series of comparisons of the placenta of sloths and anteaters; but underlying these detailed observations on structure, there were always latent, and often patent, questions of function and physiological significance, and phylogenetic and evolutionary implications. By 1931, Wislocki's commitment to descriptive studies of the placenta had become more explicit. He was now a recognized authority on this subject; and monographs together with more than 175 shorter papers, clarifying the function of this complex organ and establishing its variations among mammals, began to flow from his pen. His output of original work, all of which testifies to his clarity of thought and powers of precise exposition, has been exceeded by that of few placentologists. Wislocki played a notable role in establishing the course of the blood flow to the pituitary gland in the monkey, the uniqueness of which aroused interest in its physiologic and endocrinologic implications. His concept of a hypophyseoportal system (in the hypophyseopetal sense) opened a new perspective on hormone transport and the functional interdependence of the central nervous system and the system of endocrine glands. This must be regarded as the starting point of one of the most important advances in our knowledge of the pituitary, namely, that relating to the control of its secretion. That he should also extend his study to cetaceans was characteristic of the man and entirely in keeping with his interest in comparative and functional anatomy. A natural outcome of Wislocki's interest in sex organs and pituitary-gonad relationships was his study of gonad and antler cycles in the Virginia deer. By a combination of careful histological observation and ingenious experimental manipulation he showed that the cycles are subject to regulation by light, operating through the anterior pituitary, and that the ripening and shedding of the antlers are controlled by the concentration of testosterone in the body. During this period he also investigated the circulation and development of the blood vessels of the brain, and especially the intricacies of the hematoencephalic barrier.

Besides these research activities, Wislocki was also interested in the newer techniques of microscopy, and many pioneering studies in histochemistry, cytochemistry, and electron microscopy were carried out in his department. He never tired of learning something new, whether it be a method of vital staining, microinjection, the use of tetrazolium salts, or electron microscopy. Yet these were only methods by which to gain particular ends. The basic problem was always the biological one of how things are constructed and how they work, whether spermatozoa, megakaryocytes, teeth, sweat glands, mammary glands, muscle fibers, fetal gonads, developing embryos, or placentas. Wislocki's influence as the founder of a school of placentologists and histochemists is evident in the long list of his students and co-workers. As a teacher he was at his best with small groups; in formal lectures he was less effective. He disliked committee work, yet when he undertook it himself it was carried out efficiently.

At the age of fifty-two and again at sixty-two, he suffered serious myocardial infarctions, and in between bladder cancer had begun to plague him. He endured these illnesses with courage and a complete absence of self-pity. He died on October 22, 1956, in Milton, Massachussets.

Achievements

• One of the pioneers in the use of histochemistry in anatomical studies, George Bernays Wislocki greatly contributed to the description of the anatomy and function of the endocrine system as well as the comparative anatomy of the placental and brain-barriers.

Works

More photos

• book

  • On a Series of Placental Stages of a Platyrrhine Monkey, Ateles Geoffroyi: With Some Remarks Upon Age, Sex and Breeding Period in Platyrrhines

    (Contributions To Embryology, V22, No. 133. Carnegie Insti...)

Membership

George B. Wislocki was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Personality

Scientifically and intellectually Wislocki was a man of major stature. Physically he was tall, handsome, and well-built. Until he smiled his face was often stern and rather sad.

Connections

On February 13, 1931, George B. Wislocki married Florence Clothier, who was also a physician. They had four children.

Father:

Stanislaus Wislocki

Mother:

Lily C. Wislocki (Bernays)

Wife:

Florence Wislocki (Clothier)

Daughter:

Johanna Wislocki

Daughter:

Edith Ball Wislocki

Son:

George Stanislaus Wislocki

Son:

Louis Clothier Wislocki