VETERINARSKI ARHIV 69 (6), 299-300, 1999

ISSN 1331-8055 Published in Croatia

Prof. Dr. Uros Bego
(1921-1999)

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Uroš Bego, Doctor of Science, who died on 11 July 1999. At the time of his death Doctor Bego was a retired full professor of anatomy, histology and embryology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zagreb Dr. Bego devoted practically his entire working life to his students and to science. He died as he had lived, quietly and unobtrusively, but leaving his latest scientific work unfinished. His funeral took place at the Zagreb Crematorium on 14 July 1999.

Born on 9 November 1921 in Split (Croatia), Dr. Bego's parents were Marin, a writer and lawyer, and Ljerka (née Tomic). He attended elementary school, and then the classical gymnasium in Split from where he matriculated in 1942. That same year he enrolled as a student at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb, from where he graduated in 1950, immediately obtaining a post as an assistant at the Institute for Anatomy at the same faculty. He obtained his Doctorate in 1962 on the basis of his doctoral thesis, Influence of the body's position on topography of the thorax and thorax organs in small ruminants. In 1964 he was elected assistant professor/senior lecturer. In 1973 he became associate professor and in 1978 a full professor. From 1974 he occupied the position of Head of the Institute for Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, retiring from the post in 1987, although his scientific work continued.

Upon his election to assistant professor, Dr. Bego assumed the running of a major part of the practical tuition in anatomy, as well as holding a great number of preliminary examinations.

Keen to improve tuition in the field of anatomy, Dr. Bego introduced domestic poultry (1952) and dogs (1956) to the curriculum, for which he prepared the necessary textbooks. In 1962 he participated in the translation of Anatomy of Domestic Animals, by Sisson - Grossman, essential reading for the study of anatomy. In partnership with his younger associates, Dr. Bego wrote a considerable number of course materials, some of which went through several editions: in 1964, Compendium of Osteology; in 1964 and 1966, Morphological basis for the productive capability of domestic poultry; in 1966, Handbook for topographic dissection of head and neck; in 1974, 1975, 1979 and 1987, Brief Survey of the Anatomy of Domestic Animals, Parts I and II, and in 1987, Part I of Anatomy of domestic animals. In 1990 the Univerzitetska knjiga, a publishing house in Sarajevo, published Part II of Anatomy of Domestic Animals, and in 1991 they produced his Anatomy of Domestic Poultry with the Basis of Functional Anatomy. Dr. Bego also cooperated in the translation of the now famous Atlas of Anatomy of Domestic Animals, by Peter Popesko, first published here in 1980 by JUMENA, and then again in 1988 by Mladinska knjiga. The third edition of this atlas came out in 1990. Croatian-language terms used in the translation of Latin terminology in the atlas have proved to be very successful, thereby making Dr. Bego's contribution to the Croatian terminology of anatomy a considerable one.

Dr. Bego was also organizer and Head of the Post-graduate course of studies in Anatomy, histology and embryology, as well as being a lecturer for several of the subjects in the Course, lecturing on specific chapters concerned with poultry farming, pig farming and reproduction. For the students of these courses he also produced the course material required for study. Apart from his activities at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Bego also participated as a lecturer for the undergraduate course, Comparative Anatomy of Mammals, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Zagreb, at the post-graduate course of studies in Cattle-raising at the Faculty of Agronomy in Zagreb, in Orthopaedics at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb, as well as a lecturer in anatomy for technologists employed at the Gavrilović Meat Industry concern in Petrinja. Additionally, Dr. Bego was a mentor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, where he was responsible for more than 50 diploma papers, mostly in the field of comparative anatomy, all of which were original scientific papers.

During his work at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Bego himself published in excess of 200 scientific papers and reports, 70 of which appeared in foreign scientific publications. His main research interests lay in the comparative anatomy of the vertebrates, suprarenal gland reactivity, muscle and nerve influence on locomotion, biomechanics of bones and muscles. Dr. Bego presented his scientific reports at numerous scientific gatherings. He also started the experimental cage culture of marine fish in the Cres bay as the first one in Croatia.

Furthermore, Dr. Bego was involved in financed scientific work, and was in fact leader and associate of a number of consequential scientific projects. Following his retirement he continued his cooperation with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, the Faculties of Stomatology, Agriculture and Medicine in Zagreb, as well as with the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka and the Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek. His work with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology in Zagreb resulted in the production of a device designed to measure bio-electric currents in muscles. The processing of data obtained by this device (Carne-test) makes it possible to establish the chemical composition of meat with great precision. The device is eminently suitable for use on slaughter lines in abattoirs. Several years of research on the measurement of bio-electric currents in muscles led to two further, improved prototypes of the Carne-test. After his retirement, Dr. Bego continued his research into muscles. Although by now gravely ill, he continued to be active to the very end, being particularly interested in creating a more logical classification of muscle fibre types, commencing preparatory activities for the organization of an international symposium on typification of muscle fibres. Sadly, his work on this, his final scientific project, remained unfinished.

In addition to his tuitional and scientific work, Dr. Bego was also active in the professional and social spheres. He was one of the founder members of the Section for biomechanics at the Croatian Association of Doctors of Croatia, and one of the organizers of the international symposium, Influence of mechanical factors on bone adjustment, as well as of the "Teodor Varičak" commemorative gathering. He was a member of the European Association of Anatomists, the European Association of Veterinary Anatomists, the Yugoslav Association of Anatomists, a member, and for a certain period president, of the Croatian Association of Anatomists, Histologists and Embryologists.

The contributions made by Dr. Bego to the development and improvement of tuitional and scientific processes in veterinary medicine, particularly in the field of morphology, are truly great. He assisted so very many students, young associates and lecturers in their careers, and in helping to resolve the scientific and professional problems they encountered. All the good he did for the improvement and development of education in veterinary medicine, but not exclusively in that field, has earned him our deepest gratitude, ensuring a special place for him in our memory.

Mladen Zobundzija