Chistovich

CHISTOVICH Nikolai Yakovich (1860-1926), academician, one of the most prominent Russian therapists, infectious disease specialists, and public health physicians of the first quarter of the 20th century. After graduating from the Military Medical Academy (1884), Ch. worked for 3 years in the clinic of S.P. Botkin and defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1887. In 1890, he was elected privat-docent of the academy; in 1898, he took over the department of infectious diseases with bacteriology at the academy; in 1910, he moved to the department of academic therapeutic clinic (formerly S.P. Botkin). From 1899, in addition to this, he headed the department of private pathology and therapy of internal diseases at the Women's Medical Institute. Chistovich headed these last two departments until his death, invariably enjoying great love from his students as a brilliant lecturer and teacher. In 1914, Ch. was elected academician. Chistovich authored 92 scientific works, including purely clinical works, as well as works on experimental pathology and bacteriology, epidemiology, pathological anatomy and histology, and physiology. The most important of these are: on the phenomena of phagocytosis in the lungs (1889); on anti-phagins (discovered by him with Yurevich in 1908-1909); on pneumococcal diseases, as well as a series of works on the morphology of blood in various infections; a major monograph "Asian Cholera" (P., 1918), clinical lectures, and the widely used textbook of private pathology and therapy of internal diseases (1922-1926). Chistovich's public activities were very multifaceted. He actively worked to combat epidemics (plague 1899-1900 and others), organized assistance to refugees from the western front during World War I. Chistovich was one of the founders of the Women's Medical Institute in St. Petersburg, organizer of the St. Petersburg Biological Society, chairman (from 1923 until his death) of the Leningrad Therapeutic Society, an active participant in the Pirogov and therapeutic congresses and the Leningrad Microbiological Society.