AFANASIEV

AFANASIEV, Vasily Alexeyevich, born in 1859. In 1885 he defended his dissertation 'On the patho-anatomical changes in the tissues of the animal organism when poisoned with Berthollet's salt.' From 1894 he was a full professor of the department of general pathology and pathological anatomy at the University of Yuryev, and later at the University of Voronezh. His main works: 'Experimental Investigations on Some Microorganisms from the Group of So-called Septicaemia Haemorrhagica', 'On the Histogenesis of the Experimental Tubercle in the Tissues of Rabbits', 'Primary Sarcoma of the Lung and Death from Chloroform', and others.

AFANASIEV, Mikhail Ivanovich (1850-1910), one of the first Russian bacteriologists. In 1877 he graduated from the course of the Medico-Chirurgical Academy, and in 1881 he defended his dissertation. From 1885 A. was appointed privat-docent of the Medico-Chirurgical Academy in pathological anatomy, and then professor of pathological anatomy at the Clinical Institute named after Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna; from 1889 - director and head of the therapeutic department of the institute. A. edited a number of journals and books, such as: 'Practical Medicine', 'Eilenburg and Afanasyev's Real Encyclopedia of Medical Sciences', 'Modern Medicine and Hygiene', 'Therapeutic Herald', 'Medical Herald', and others. A. discovered and described the whooping cough bacillus, which bears his name. A. recognized the full significance of the new bacteriological method for understanding the etiology and establishing the diagnosis of infectious diseases and was its ardent follower. In his laboratory, Russian doctors were able to study this new technique of clinical research for the first time. A. wrote many articles and monographs devoted to infectious diseases. Of his scientific works, the most well-known are his dissertation 'On the Innervation of the Bile Secretion with Some Indications on the Origin of Jaundice' and 'Aetiologie und klinische Bakteriologie des Keuchhustens' (1887). In total, A. personally and together with his students wrote about 50 scientific works.