Sofia Ionescu on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu (25 April 1920 – 21 March 2008) was the first female
Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu, prima femeie neurochirurg din lume
tvr.ro (25 April 2014). In 1970, the favorite wife of the
Sofia Ionescu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu, Sofia 1920 births 2008 deaths People from Fălticeni Romanian neurosurgeons Romanian women physicians 20th-century surgeons Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni
Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu (25 April 1920 – 21 March 2008) was the first female neurosurgeon
Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...
in the world.
Early life
Ionescu was born inFălticeni
Fălticeni (; ''german: Foltischeni; hu, Falticsén;'' he, פלטיצ'ן yi, פאלטישאן) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. Fălticeni is the second largest urba ...
, Suceava County
Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper.
The county seat is the historical town ...
, daughter of Constantin Ogrezeanu, a bank cashier, and Maria Ogrezeanu, housewife.
Ionescu's interest in medicine began after she met one of her best friends, Aurelia Dumitru, and her father, Dr. Dumitru. The death of one of her school friends, who died in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
due to an infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
after brain surgery, impelled Ionescu to apply to medical school.
Education
She attended high school first in Fălticeni and then inBucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. Supported by her mother, she applied to the Faculty of Medicine of Bucharest in 1939. In her first internship year, she studied ophthalmology
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...
. Next year, she spent in Suceava
Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...
at a poorly-equipped clinic during a typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
. During a school break, she volunteered to take care of Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
prisoners at Stamate Hospital in Fălticeni. She entered the surgical service of the hospital, doing her first surgical operations, mostly amputation
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
s.
In October 1943, she became an intern at Hospital Nr. 9 in Bucharest. In 1944, during the Bombing of Bucharest in World War II
The Bucharest World War II bombings were primarily Allied bombings of railroad targets and those of the Oil Campaign of World War II, but included a bombing by Nazi Germany after 1944 coup d'état. Bucharest stored and distributed much of Plo ...
, she was forced to perform an emergency brain surgery on an injured boy due to lack of sufficient medical staff. In 1945, she became certified in medicine and surgery.
Career
She was a neurosurgeon for 47 years at Hospital Nr. 9, forming a team with Ionel Ionescu and , under the guidance of . They formed the first neurological team of Romania, later called "The golden team", which helped develop neurosurgery in Romania.tvr.ro (25 April 2014). In 1970, the favorite wife of the
Sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
had become ill. As a man could not enter the harem, they needed to find a female doctor. Ionescu stayed one week at the woman’s side and cured her. As a reward the sheik gave her 2,000 dollars and an expensive piece of jewelry. She died on 21 March 2008 in Bucharest.
References
Further reading
* *External links
Sofia Ionescu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu, Sofia 1920 births 2008 deaths People from Fălticeni Romanian neurosurgeons Romanian women physicians 20th-century surgeons Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni