Academician Mstislav Vasilievich Volkov (1923–2001) (on the 100th anniversary of his birth)

Abstract

Outstanding traumatologist-orthopedist, scientist, teacher and health care organizer, founder of a large school of traumatologists and pediatric orthopedists, academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, vice-president of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, chief traumatologist and chairman of the Academic Council of the USSR Ministry of Health, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, laureate of the USSR State Prize, Professor Mstislav Vasilievich Volkov was born on June 1, 1923 in Vladivostok. In 1940, he entered the 2nd Moscow Medical Institute, at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he joined the people’s militia, served as a signalman, and after demobilization in 1945, he continued his studies at the Institute, after which he studied in a clinical residency, and then in graduate school at the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedics under the direction of Professor S. D. Ternovsky. In 1952, he defended his candidate’s thesis «Peculiarities of amputation limb stump in children», and in 1961 – his doctoral thesis «Tumors and dysplasia of bones in children». From 1961 to 1984, M. V. Volkov headed the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics named after N. N. Priorov and at the same time headed the Clinic of pediatric bone pathology and adolescent orthopedics of this Institute. Mstislav Vasilievich made a huge contribution to the development of traumatology and orthopedics. Under his leadership, 48 doctoral and 50 candidate dissertations were prepared, in which the most pressing problems and numerous specific issues of traumatology, adult and pediatric orthopedics were studied. The results of these studies have become widespread in the practical activities of specialized hospitals in the Soviet Union. M. V. Volkov was the author and co-author of 33 inventions. The Volkov-Oganesyan repositioning-compression and hinge-distraction devices have received the greatest popularity and widespread implementation in practice. For 18 years, Mstislav Vasilievich was the chief traumatologist-orthopedist of the USSR Ministry of Health. He has published over 350 scientific papers, 17 monographs and manuals, many of which have been translated into English, French and German. Academician M. V. Volkov died on December 11, 2001 and was buried at the Vostryakovskoye cemetery in Moscow.