Nicolae Hortolomei (November 27, 1885 – January 3, 1961) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n surgeon, director of the Surgery and Urology Clinic at Colțea Hospital in

Bucharest 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 o ...

, professor at the

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

, titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

, and

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Education and career

He was born on November 27, 1885, in

Huși Huși (, Yiddish/ he, חוש ''Khush'', hu, Huszváros, German: ''Hussburg'') is a city in Vaslui County, Romania, former capital of the disbanded Fălciu County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, Romanian Orthodox episcopal see, an ...

, Fălciu County. From 1895 to 1902, he attended the

Costache Negruzzi National College The Costache Negruzzi National College (''Colegiul Național „Costache Negruzzi”'') in Iași is one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. Founded in 1895 as the ''Boarding High School of Iași'', it was named after the writer and po ...

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, and then studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

. In 1909, he obtained his doctorate in medicine and surgery with thesis ''Congenital absence of the tibia'' written under the guidance of

Ernest Juvara Ernest Juvara (May 5, 1870, Bârlad, Vaslui County – May 5, 1933, Bucharest) was a Romanian physician, innovative in surgical and instrumental techniques. He was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bucharest, with contri ...

. After a brief stint as country doctor in

Oancea Oancea is a Commune in Romania, commune in Galați County, Western Moldavia, Romania with a population of 1,546 people. It is composed of two villages, Oancea and Slobozia Oancea. It is also a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border c ...

Galați County Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the '' ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the ...

, he joined in 1911 the

genitourinary The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, are the organs of the reproductive system and the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, their common embryological origin and the use of common pathw ...

diseases service at Saint Spyridon Hospital in Iași, and then was appointed assistant in the surgical clinic directed by Juvara and, later, by . A few years later Hortolomei went back to Paris for specialization in urology in the clinic of Félix Legueu. During the

Romanian campaign The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 1 ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he organized field hospitals in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, together with

Iacob Iacobovici Iacob Melcon Iacobovici (November 18, 1879 – October 9, 1959) was a Romanian surgeon. Biography Origins and early career Born in Costești, Botoșani County, his family were peasants of Armenian origin who had arrived in the Moldavia reg ...

. After the

Union of Bessarabia with Romania The union of Bessarabia with Romania was proclaimed on by Sfatul Țării, the legislative body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. This state had the same borders of the region of Bessarabia, which was annexed by the Russian Empire following ...

, he was appointed head of the surgery department at the Gubernial Hospital in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...

. In 1920, he became professor of surgery at the

of the University of Iași. Among his students there were Vladimir Buțureanu, Gheorghe Chipail, Oscar Franche, and Gheorghe Plăcinteanu. In 1930, Hortolomei transferred to the Colentina Hospital in Bucharest, while in 1933 he became director of the surgery and urology clinic at Colțea Hospital and professor at the

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy ( ro, Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie „Carol Davila”) or University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, commonly known by the abbreviation UMFCD, is a public health sciences university i ...

. His students included

Theodor Burghele Theodor Burghele (12 February 1905 – 3 June 1977) was a Romanian surgeon and urologist, titular member and President of the Romanian Academy, and Minister of Health. He was born in Iași in an old Moldavian boyar family, the son of Theodor Bur ...

, , , and . From 1939 to 1940, Hortolomei served as Minister of Health in the Gheorghe Tătărescu government. He was elected titular member of the Romanian Academy in 1948. He was also a member of the French

Académie nationale de chirurgie An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

. He died in Bucharest on January 3, 1961. The coffin was deposited in the hall of the Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy, and the burial took place on January 5, at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. Th ...

, with military honors. In ''

Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city. A new magazine ''Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling o ...

'', the poet

Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...

dedicated a ''tablet'' to him, in which he wrote: "Hortolomei closed his eyes in the minute when time passes by, at midnight, in the beginning of the year. I would have been told that he was raising his glass to the health of man and mankind."

Publications

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References

1885 births 1961 deaths People from Huși Costache Negruzzi National College alumni Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Romanian surgeons Romanian medical writers Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Academic staff of the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Titular members of the Romanian Academy Burials at Bellu Cemetery Romanian Ministers of Health 20th-century surgeons {{Romania-med-bio-stub