HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Nikolay Burdenko
OR:
Nikolay Burdenko on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Nikolay Nilovich Burdenko (russian: Николай Нилович Бурденко;  – 11 November 1946) was a Russian Empire and Soviet
surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
, the founder of Russian neurosurgery. He was Surgeon-General of the Red Army (1937–1946), an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (from 1939), an academician and the first director of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR (1944–1946), a Hero of Socialist Labor (from 1943),
Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...
of medical services, and a Stalin Prize winner (1941). He was a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War,
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
, Winter War and the German-Soviet War.


Early years

Nikolay Burdenko was born on 3 June 1876 in the village of Kamenka in the Nizhnelomovsky Uyezd of the Penza Governorate (modern-day Kamenka, Kamensky District, Penza Oblast of Russia), one of the eight children of Nil Karpovich Burdenko (1839—1906) and Varvara Markianovna Burdenko (née Smagina) (1851—1897). His paternal grandfather Karp Fyodorovich Burdenko came from
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
of the Kuznetsky Uezd of the Saratov Governorate where he served as a landlord's estate manager and his wife — as a maid; after being granted freedom they moved to Penza and then — to Verhniy Lomov of the Penza Governorate. Nikolay's father also worked as an estate manager for the major general Vladimir Voeykov ( ru) who served in the Svita of
Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
and was close to the Emperor's family. Nikolay's mother was a housewife who came from peasants of the Tambov Governorate.''
Pavel Nilin Pavel Filippovich Nilin (; 17 January 1908 – 2 October 1981) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, journalist and playwright, best known for his novel ''A Man Goes Uphill'' (1936), adapted to the big screen under the title ''A Great Lif ...
(1982)''. Interesting Life: Episodes from the Life of Burdenko Nikolay Nilovich, a Surgeon. — Moscow: Sovremennik, p. 3-7''Aleksandr Tyustin, Igor Shishkin (2012)''
They Added to Penza's Glory. In 3 Volumes. Volume 1
— Penza: Iceberg, p. 60-61 In 1885, Burdenko finished Kamenka zemstvo school and in 1886 entered Penza theological school to study for an Orthodox priest. In 1891, he entered Penza theological seminary and was soon sent to the
Saint Petersburg Theological Academy The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy (russian: Санкт-Петербургская духовная академия) is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologi ...
as the best student. In 1897, he left it to study medicine at the recently opened Faculty of Medicine of the Tomsk Imperial University. There, he became fascinated with anatomy and operative surgery, and by the third course he was appointed as a prosector's assistant. He was then excluded from the university for participating in the
1899 Russian student strike The 1899 Russian student strike was a student movement with the aim of establishing a constitutional, liberal, or progressive government in Russia. Russia's first ever student strike started at St Petersburg University. Background Russia had no ...
, but was pardoned and restored just to be excluded for the second time in 1901 on the same account. After that, he was forced to leave Tomsk.People of Russian Science. Essays on Prominent Figures in Natural History and Engineering. Biology, Medicine, Agricultural Sciences // ed. by Ivan Kuzntesov. — Moscow: Fizmatlit, 1963, p. 669—678


Medical career

On 11 October 1901, he entered the fourth course of the Imperial University of Yuryev (modern-day University of Tartu), Faculty of Medicine. Once again, he became involved with the student protest movement and had to spend a year in the Kherson Governorate treating children with typhus, tuberculosis and other epidemic diseases. He was then restored in the university. During that time he worked a lot as a surgeon and took part in medical expeditions around the country to fight epidemics of typhus, smallpox and
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
. In January 1904, Burdenko volunteered for the Russo-Japanese War. He served in the field ambulance detachment in Manchuria and was shot in the arm while saving wounded under hostile fire during the Battle of Te-li-Ssu. He was awarded with the Cross of St. George for his service. On December he demobilized and returned to his studies. In 1905, he was invited to the surgery department of the
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
town hospital for practice.
degree and the next year he became a
privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
and an
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
at the University of Yuryev.


World War I

With the start of the World War I in 1914, Burdenko once again volunteered for the frontline and joined the Red Cross detachment of the Northwestern Front, taking part in the East Prussian Operation and the Battle of the Vistula River. In addition to the duties of field surgeon he also evacuated wounded soldiers under hostile fire, organized triage, aid and dressing stations, including special sections for soldiers with stomach, lungs and skull wounds. For the first time in battlefield medicine Burdenko applied first aid care for skull injuries. From 1915 to 1917, he also worked as a consultant surgeon, first at the
Kovno Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
and Vilna Governorates, then at the 2nd Army and various Riga hospitals. In March 1917, he was appointed the Main Battlefield Medical Inspector, but left the post on May due to disagreements with the Russian Provisional Government and returned to front.Mark Mirsky (1983)
''Healing with a Scalpel. Academician N. N. Burdenko''
Moscow: Znanie, pp. 57-67, 131–160 He was diagnosed with the post-concussion syndrome after one of the battles and had to return to his Alma mater where he headed the surgery department. Following the occupation of Yuryev by German forces Burdenko was suggested to continue to carry out his duties under the new power, but he declined the offer and in June 1918 evacuated to Voronezh along with other professors. There, he became one of the founders of the Voronezh State University based on the University of Yuryev.


Scientific work

Burdenko took active part in building and managing war hospitals for the Red Army. In 1920 he organized medical courses to prepare field surgeons and nurses. Simultaneously he consulted the Voronezh Health Department and continued his scientific work. His researches concerned shock prevention, healing of wounds and infections, surgical treatment of tuberculosis, anesthesia, blood transfusion and so on. At the time he also came to conclusion that neurosurgery must be taken as a separate specialty. In 1923, Burdenko moved to Moscow and became a professor of the Moscow State University where he founded a neurosurgical department; in 1930, it was reorganized into the 1st Moscow Medical Institute. He also headed the university surgical clinic from 1924 until his death which currently bears his name. In 1929, a faculty of field surgery was founded on his initiative. Same year Burdenko was appointed a director of the neurosurgical clinic of the X-ray institute under the People's Commissariat for Health which served as the basis for the world's first Central Neurosurgical Institute founded in 1932 (known today as N .N. Burdenko National Scientific and Practical Center for Neurosurgery). Burdenko was among the first to introduce surgery of the
central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and peripheral nervous system to clinical practice; he investigated the reasons behind the appearance of shock and the methods of treating it, made a large contribution to the study of the processes which appear in the central and peripheral nervous system in connection with the surgical operation in the case of sharp injuries; he developed the bulbotomy — operation on the upper division of the spinal cord. Burdenko created the school of surgeons with a sharply pronounced experimental direction. Works in the domains of the oncology of central and
vegetative nervous system The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control system th ...
, pathology of the liquor circulation, and cerebral blood circulation were the valuable contribution of Burdenko and his school to the theory and practice of neurosurgery. With his active participation, neurosurgical clinics and departments appeared all over the country. Burdenko organized and headed various medical conferences, including the All-Union Neurosurgical Council founded in 1935, and represented Soviet Union at international conferences. He also headed the All-Union Association of Surgeons and became a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1938, the same year he joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...
. From 1937, he worked as the main consultant surgeon under the Red Army Board of Health. He also published the first guide concerning field surgery based on his war experience which helped to prepare the army for the World War II.


World War II

In 1939, the 64-year-old Burdenko joined the Winter War and spent all four months at the frontline, managing the battlefield surgery. With the start of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, he was appointed the Main Surgeon of the Red Army and participated in some of the first battles that took place near Yartsevo and Vyazma. He organized medical help and personally operated thousands of people. He also tested and actively applied first antibiotics — benzylpenicillin and gramicidin — to treat injury infections. During one of the Nazi bombings, Burdenko survived another heavy concussion which led to a stroke; he also completely lost ability to talk and had to train hard to regain it. He spent two months in war hospitals and in April 1942 returned to Moscow where he continued scientific work. For the first time in world medicine he suggested to treat pus complications after brain and skull injures by injecting streptocide white into a
carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to: * Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery * External carotid artery, an artery on each side of t ...
which turned to be more effective compared to intravenous injections practiced at the time. He also promoted the usage of secondary suture and effective treating of artery wounds. In November 1942, Burdenko was appointed a member of the Extraordinary State Commission. He investigated various Nazi crimes, including attacks on medical personnel, hospital trains and Red Cross units. He also headed the special commission of forensic medical examination that revealed atrocities committed during the Nazi occupation of the Smolensk and Oryol Oblast where over 215 000 Soviet civilians were murdered. In January 1944, he headed a special commission established to investigate the Katyn massacre. The commission's report assigned Nazi Germany the responsibility for the massacre, factually carried out by the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs), the Soviet secret police. Based on the
autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
performed by 75 doctors, evidences found on corpses and testimony collected from witnesses, the commission reported that the massacre happened during the autumn of 1941 and that methods used to kill Polish officers were identical to those used by German forces during occupation of Soviet cities. Documented materials were entered into evidence at the Nuremberg trial. In 1993, a commission of experts under the Russia's Chief Military Prosecutor's Office disapproved the Burdenko commission's report as "false" and "not meeting science requirements". In 1950, Boris Olshansky, a defector to the United States and a former Soviet Army officer who claimed to be a former associated professor at the Voronezh State University and Burdenko's friend, published an article and in 1952 — testified in court that in April 1946 Burdenko had revealed to him that he knew about the execution been carried out by the NKVD, recognizing it as a "mistake" of the agency, and stating that for him as a medical man "it was quite clear" that the corpses dated back to 1940. In 1957, Olshansky returned to the USSR where he claimed that his testimony was made up by the American Committee for Liberation and was given by him under fear of repressions, although according to Democratic United States Representative
Dan Flood Daniel John Flood (November 26, 1903 – May 28, 1994) was an American attorney and politician, a flamboyant and long-serving Democratic United States Representative from Pennsylvania. First elected to the US House in 1944, he served continuously ...
, Olshansky "appeared and testified voluntarly". However, other doubts arose as to the credibility of Olshansky's testimony the following years. Burdenko's name also appeared on the official Soviet report regarding the
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. ...
as document USSR-008. In June 1944, the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences was founded in Moscow. It was designed in accordance with plans developed by Burdenko and was partially based on the Institute of Experimental Medicine — the first Russian research institute that existed from 1890 to 1944. Burdenko served as its president from 20 December until his death.


Death

In June 1945, he survived a second stroke, and during the summer of 1946 — a third one. While in hospital, Burdenko finished a report on healing of gunshot wounds. Burdenko died on 11 November 1946, just several months after the third stroke. He was buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
in Moscow. He was survived by his wife Maria Emilievna Burdenko (1882—1954) and their son Vladimir Nikolaevich Burdenko (1912—1974), Captain 2nd rank who served on submarine during the war.


Honours and awards

*
Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
(1943) * Three Orders of Lenin * Order of the Red Banner * Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class *
Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
*
Medal for Combat Service A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
*
Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" The Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «За оборону Москвы») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union awarded to military and civilians who had participated in the Battle of Moscow. History ...
* Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Medal "For the Victory over Japan" *
Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
* Stalin Prize (1941) * Honorary member of the International Society of Surgeons, Royal Society of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The following were named after Burdenko: SRI of the neurosurgery in Moscow, Central military hospital, the faculty of the surgical clinic of
Sechenov Doctor Ivan Mikhaylovich Sechenov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Се́ченов; , Tyoply Stan (now Sechenovo) near Simbirsk, Russia – , Moscow), was a Russian psychologist, physiologist, and medical scientist. The very f ...
's medical academy, Penza provincial clinical hospital, streets in Moscow and Voronezh, an
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
( 6754 Burdenko).


References


Literature

*''Nikolay Burdenko (1951)''. N. N. Burdenko. Collection of Works in 7 Volumes. — Moscow: Academy of Science Publishing House. *''Suren Bagdasaryan (1950)''
Materials for N. N. Burdenko's Biography (1876–1946)
— Moscow: Academy of Science Publishing House, 152 pages. *''Suren Bagdasaryan (1954)''
Nikolay Nilovich Burdenko
— Moscow: Medgiz, 248 pages.


External links


Biographyниколай нилович) Nikolay Burdenko's full bibliography
at the Russian State Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdenko, Nikolay 1876 births 1946 deaths Academicians of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Combat medics Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Heroes of Socialist Labour History of neuroscience Katyn massacre investigators Academic staff of Moscow State University Surgeons from the Russian Empire Presidents of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences People from Penza Oblast People of the Russo-Japanese War Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Red Cross personnel Inventors from the Russian Empire Russian people of World War I Soviet people of World War II Soviet military doctors Soviet neurosurgeons Stalin Prize winners University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu