Nikolsky Peter

NIKOLSKY PETER Vasilievich (born in 1858), professor of dermatology and syphilology; graduated from the medical faculty of Kiev University in 1884, remaining here first as an intern at the dermatovenereological clinic, and from 1896 to 1900 as a private lecturer. From 1900, N. was a professor at Warsaw University, then at the North-Caucasus University in Rostov-on-Don, holding the chair at the latter until 1930. N. belongs to the number of the greatest Russian dermatosyphilologists. He authored about 70 scientific works, of which the most valuable are devoted to the morphology and pathogenesis of dermatoses. In 1896, in his dissertation "Materials for the study of pemphigus foliaceus Cazenave" (Kiev, 1896), N. noted the sign of epidermal detachment upon friction on healthy areas of skin in patients with pemphigus foliaceus. This sign has since been called the "Nikolsky sign".

N. was one of the pioneers of the injection method for treating syphilis in Russia; his clinic was the first to conduct research on the mercury content in the blood of syphilis patients. The view expressed by N. in 1907 on the origin of gangrene of the buttocks after mercury injections (mercury entering the artery) received confirmation in 1927 in the experimental works of other authors. N. is the author of a widely used guide to skin and venereal diseases (4th ed., Moscow-Leningrad, 1930). N. actively participated in the organization of the dermatological clinic in Rostov-on-Don, created the Don Dermatovenereological Society at OKGU. N. was a member of many scientific societies, corresponding member of the French dermatovenereological society, co-editor of the BME and other medical publications.