Neurosurgery, Institute of

(full name, N. N. Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR), a research institute concerned with the diagnosis and surgical treatment of diseases of the nervous system. The institute was founded in Moscow in 1934 by N. N. Burdenko and V. V. Kramer; it became part of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR in 1944 and was named after Burdenko in 1946.

As of 1974, the institute consisted of clinical departments for the treatment of severe craniocerebral traumas, vascular diseases, and pediatric neurosurgical diseases; a clinical department for anesthesiology and resuscitation; and two clinical departments for the treatment of neural neoplasms. The institute also has a radiology department and a section for neurophysiological research with a neurophysiology laboratory and laboratories for the study of autonomic functions, electrophysiology, and methods of mathematical analysis of physiological processes in the central nervous system. In addition, it has a laboratory of neural morphology with research groups in pathological anatomy, experimental neurohistology, neurosurgical anatomy, and experimental neurology. The institute maintains a biochemical laboratory and research groups in otoneurology, ophthalmology, and clinical diagnosis. Finally, there is a section for scientific coordination and methods.

The institute focuses its attention primarily on the symptoms and treatment of severe craniocerebral traumas, the neurosurgical pathology of the cerebral blood vessels, and the surgical treatment of brain tumors; it is also the leading organization in the country dealing with the surgical pathology of neurological diseases. The institute offers a residency (an advanced training position for physicians) and a graduate program; it is also authorized to accept candidate’s and doctoral dissertations for defense. Occasionally, the institute publishes the proceedings of scientific meetings and conferences and letters on methodology. The institute was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1954.