Nil Filatov

Nil Filatov
Born	(1847-06-02)June 2, 1847 Mikhaylovka, Penza Governorate, now Lyambirsky District, Mordovia, Russia
Died	February 8, 1902(1902-02-08) (aged 54) Moscow
Citizenship	Russian Empire
Alma mater	Moscow University
Known for	Infectious mononucleosis Dukes' disease Koplik spots
Scientific career
Fields	paediatrics

Nil Fyodorovich Filatov (Russian: Нил Фёдорович Фила́тов, 2 June [O.S. 21 May] 1847, or 16 April [O.S. 4 April] 1847, – 8 February [O.S. 26 January] 1902) was a medical doctor who is considered the founder of Russian paediatrics.

Career

Having graduated from the Moscow University, he practised as a country doctor in his native region. In 1872–1874, Filatov took additional training in Vienna, Berlin, Heidelberg, and Prague. In 1876, he upheld a thesis on bronchitis and pneumonia, and obtained a doctor degree.

Nil Filatov is most famous for describing infectious mononucleosis (also known as Filatov's disease) in 1887 and Dukes' disease (sometimes referred as Dukes-Filatov disease) in 1885; he was also one of the first to observe Koplik's spots (1895). In cooperation with Georgy Gabrichevsky he introduced serumal treatment of diphtheria in 1894.

He created a number of handbooks on paediatrics, which were not only popular in Russia, but also translated into German, French, Italian, Czech and Hungarian. In 1892, Filatov established the Society of Paediatricians in Moscow.

The oldest children's hospitals in Moscow (where Filatov worked, now #13), and in Russia (#5, based in St. Petersburg) are named after him. His nephew Vladimir Filatov was a prominent ophthalmologist.

External links

• Nil Filatov at Who Named It?
• Biography by the 1st MSMU (in Russian)