Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (1810-1881): Anatomical research to develop surgery

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.