Nikolay Pirogov qualified as a physician from Moscow University in 1828 and then studied surgery and anatomy at University of Dorpat. He developed new surgical techniques, including the eponymous osteoplastic foot amputation. His application of scientifically based techniques extended surgery from a craft to a science. During the Crimean War he initiated the deployment of women as nurses and used triage for dealing with mass casualties. His textbook on field surgery became the standard reference on the subject and his principles remained virtually unchanged until the Second World War. Pirogov died on 5 December 1881 at his estate in Vishnya.
Summary A key figure in the development of anaesthesia in Russia was the surgeon Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (1810–1881). He experimented with ether and chloroform and organised the general introduction of anaesthesia in Russia for patients undergoing surgery. He was the first to perform systematic research into anaesthesia‐related morbidity and mortality. More specifically, he was one of the first to administer ether anaesthesia on the battlefield, where the principles of military medicine that he established remained virtually unchanged until the outbreak of the Second World War.
The 19th century Russian surgeon Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov believed passionately in the importance of anatomy for surgeons. His interest in anatomy began as a medical student in Moscow. After graduating in 1828 Pirogov entered the postgraduate German‐Baltic University of Dorpat (now Tartu in the Republic of Estonia) where he studied anatomy and surgery. After completing his study, he remained to research the consequences of ligation of the aorta in a series of animal experiments, which formed the core of his doctoral thesis. He wanted to determine the feasibility of aortic ligation as a treatment for patients with an aneurysm of the aorta or iliac artery. He discovered that success was only likely when the aorta was ligated between the two mesenteric arteries and the ligature gradually tightened, an approach surgically difficult in humans. Pirogov then spent 2 years at the Charité Hospital in Berlin before returning to Russia. In 1841, he was appointed Professor of Applied Anatomy and Surgery at the Imperial Medico‐Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg. He instituted the teaching of microscopy and histology to the medical curriculum and in 1846 formed the Institute for Applied Anatomy within the academy, where in addition to teaching medical students future teachers of anatomy in Russia were trained. Pirogov published extensively on anatomy, including several anatomical atlases, the most notable his three‐dimensional atlas of topographical anatomy published in four volumes between 1852 and 1859. Today Pirogov's contributions to anatomy are remembered in a number of anatomical structures named after him. Clin. Anat., 33:714–730, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
During the reign of Peter the Great and his successors most significant achievements in the field of public health in Russia took place. In order to train domestic doctors, especially for the army and navy, Peter I organized the training of the best representatives of Russia at the leading medical universities in Europe, and especially at the University of Leiden. He also created the first medical surgical schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, close ties in the field of medicine between Russia and the Netherlands were established. A significant number of doctors, graduates of the Leiden University practiced in Russia and held very high positions in Russian medical services. This contributed to the advancement of advanced European technologies in the provision of medical services and medical education in Russia. Therefore the role of Dutch doctors in the development of Russian medicine in the Petrine era is extremely significant. Under their leadership, the first hospitals and medical schools were established, the first textbooks were developed in Russian and scientific research was conducted. The Academy of Sciences created by Peter the Great was the centre of scientific achievements of Imperial Russia.
Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov, one of the greatest Russian surgeons of the 19th Century, was convinced of the importance of deploying nurses to care for the casualties of war. With the support of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, sister-in-law of Tsar Nikolas I, Pirogov realised the idea during the Crimean war when Russia became the first country to send female nurses to the battle front. Later in the 19th century, large numbers of Russian women trained as nurses under the auspices of the Russian Red Cross, founded in 1867. In peacetime, their expertise was extremely valuable.
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