Highlights of the professional activities of Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov before and after his professoriate in Saint Petersburg (1841–1860). Part I

Abstract

This article is the first part of two articles on Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov. In this article we will discuss how Pirogov developed in his early professional career his unique scientific attitude toward medical problems. He extended this scientific view already before his appointment as Professor of Applied Anatomy and Hospital Surgery at the Medical-Surgical Academy and chief surgeon of the Second Military Landforce Hospital (with 1000 beds) in 1841. After his resignation as Professor in 1860 and during his retirement he used his views and skills towards the management of mass casualties during wars or others, which eventually developed into the International Red Cross. In the second article “Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov as an innovator in anatomy, surgery, and anaesthesiology.” we will highlight his professional career as an anatomist, surgeon and anaesthesiologist. The authors of these two parts want to emphasize that these two articles are an extract from previously published extensive articles related to Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov. You can find these articles in the reference list under the name of the first author [20–25].