Filatov Nil Fedorovich is an outstanding Russian doctor, the founder of clinical pediatrics and a scientific school.
For a relatively short life, he cured a lot of children. For services to Russia in Moscow, in the square of Maiden Field, a monument was erected on him, on which the lines “To a Friend of Children” are carved.
Biography of Neil Fedorovich Filatov
Filatov was born on May 20, 1847. Place of birth is the village of Mikhailovka, Saransk district, Penza province. He was a native of a family of hereditary nobles, the third son. In total, his large family had seven boys, and all of them left their mark on the history of Russia.
Until the age of 12, Neil studied at home. He was taught mathematics and Russian by the talented serf Morozov (the first teacher did not have other data). In 1859, Filatov was admitted to the Institute of the nobility of the city of Penza, immediately to the second class. At that time, 3 of his brothers were already studying there.
Entering the path of a doctor
After graduating from the institute in 1864, Neil moved to Moscow. He enters the Moscow Institute, the medical faculty.
After studying within the walls of this educational institution for five years, since 1869, Neil began to work as a Zemstvo doctor. Initially, the place of his activity was the Saransk district, well known to him. In 1872, Filatov moved abroad, working in clinics of Vienna, Heidelberg, Prague. In total, Filatov worked for 2 years, until 1874.
Abroad, Neil Fedorovich Filatov improved his theoretical and practical knowledge, received excellent medical practice. Especially seriously, he deepened his knowledge in pediatrics, therapy, anatomy, and dermatology.
A family
At the same time, Neil Filatov is starting a family. Smirnova Julia Nikolaevna, the daughter of a nobleman whose estate was not far from the Filatov family estate, became his chosen one. In the marriage, they had five children, but only three survived. Two died at an early age, failing to defeat diphtheria.
The family of Neil Fedorovich Filatov all his life was for him an island of calm, where he gained peace of mind.
Returning home, work as a pediatrician, defending a dissertation
After returning to Russia, Filatov began working in a children's hospital in Moscow, and became a visiting professor at the medical faculty of Moscow University.
The place of work of Neil Fedorovich Filatov was a children's hospital on the street. Bronnoy. She had three departments: infectious, for infants and for children with other diseases. Despite the fact that this medical institution was located in an old, not adapted building, it was very famous and popular, which was connected primarily with Neil Fedorovich, who managed to earn and strengthen his authority. He was a smart, kind and talented children's doctor. Filatov worked in this hospital for 5 years.
Along with practical activities, Neil was engaged in scientific research. So, during the year he wrote and defended his doctoral dissertation (in late spring 1876), the theme of which was the problem of bronchitis and catarrhal pneumonia. Having appreciated the merits, knowledge, experience of a young scientist, he is offered a permanent job at the Department of Obstetrics, Women and Children’s Diseases at the University of Moscow as a private assistant professor.
Teaching, scientific papers
Starting to fulfill new duties, Neil Filatov tried to attract the attention of students and colleagues to the problem of childhood diseases. Passing through the death of his babies, Filatov began to thoroughly study the causes of high mortality of children in Russia. At that time, the main place among the diseases that took away children's lives was gastrointestinal diseases and acute infectious diseases.
Based on his professional experience, studying and comparing the facts, Neil Fedorovich Filatov prepared and published a number of significant works in the field of childhood ailments in a short period of time. So, in 1873 he published a monograph on childhood dyspepsia and flu. In 1876 he published a work on prejudice in the educational process. In 1881, collected and systematic lectures on the treatment of catarrh of the gastrointestinal tract in children saw the light of day.
In these works, Neil describes in detail the methods of differential diagnosis and the basics of baby food. He was the first to pay attention to the composition and quality of breast milk. Since that time, Neil Filatov came to the conclusion that mother's milk is the actual second medicine and strongly recommended that they feed the babies.
Another major, landmark work, Neil Fedorovich released in 1885 under the title "Lectures on Infectious Children's Diseases." In this work, Filatov, already recognized as the chief pediatrician of Russia, dwells in detail on the very common and dangerous diseases of the time transmitted by airborne droplets: scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles. During the release of this work, they annually claimed hundreds of children's lives.
Recognition of merit
Doctors of that time recognized that the work of Neil Fedorovich Filatov was very timely in Russia. They have become a serious help in the fight against dangerous diseases.
In 1890, Filatov released a fundamental and unique work, which for many decades became the main manual of pediatricians and students. Its name is Semiotics, the diagnosis of childhood diseases with the application of a therapeutic index. Over a decade, this work has been reprinted six times.
Despite the fact that Neil Filatov was actively involved in the university, he every day together with students made rounds of patients in the Khludov hospital. At the same time he continued his scientific activity. In the late nineties of the XIX century, he developed a new section in pediatric pathology - neuralgia.
Nil Fedorovich Filatov made a significant contribution to the fight against the diphtheria epidemic, which at the end of the 19th century hit the southern outskirts of the Russian Empire. Filatov created and successfully used serum in the treatment of diphtheria with his colleague Gabrichevsky.
Another huge contribution to medicine was the scientific work of Neil Fedorovich Filatov, published from 1889 to 1902. During this period, he published a short textbook on childhood diseases, and also organized systematic lecture issues. These works became the reference books of Russian and foreign pediatricians.
Neil Fedorovich Filatov in his lectures, works and discussions with students, fellow doctors, constantly emphasized that the child’s body is different from the body of an adult. At the heart of his methods of examining children was an individual approach. Filatov developed and implemented an advanced medical history scheme that has been recognized and widely used in pediatrics.
Experiences for sick children, the burdens associated with this, as well as the inability to maintain the daily routine, led to the fact that since 1895, Neil Filatov’s health began to pass. He suffered from bouts of angina pectoris, increased manifestations of atherosclerosis, began to give up his heart.
Health problems, death
Despite health problems, Neil Fedorovich did not stop medical consultations in various cities of central Russia. At the beginning of 1902, during his stay in Nizhny Novgorod, he suffered a hemorrhage in the brain, which led to paralysis of half the body. His associates made significant efforts to treat him. Some symptoms gave hope for recovery. However, on January 26, 1902, a second stroke led to the death of Filatov in his fifty-fifth year of life.
Filatov's legacy, memory of the founder of Russian pediatrics
Neil Fedorovich Filatov is rightfully the pride of Russian medicine. He did a tremendous job that brought health to many children. His merits as the founder of Russian pediatrics are not forgotten. His name is the prize that is awarded in Russia for successes achieved in the fight against childhood diseases. On Sadovo-Kudrinskaya Street in the city of Moscow, a large children's hospital bears his name.
In the city of Penza, in the homeland of Neil Fedorovich Filatov, he is remembered. The Regional Children's Clinical Hospital is named after him. A monument to Filatov was erected on the territory of her yard.
From an old photo, Neil Fedorovich Filatov looks at his contemporaries with a calm look. He is confident that his knowledge and experience will be in demand in the field of combating childhood ailments.