Nikolsky, pyotr vasilievich

(b. 1858, d. March 17, 1940) Pyotr Vasilyevich Nikolsky was born on September 1, 1858, in Usman, in the Russian province of Tambov. In 1877, he began studying medicine at Moscow University and transferred to St. Vladimir University in Kyiv after one year. After completing his studies, he worked there, beginning in 1884 as a resident in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology. His mentor was Mikhail Stukovenkov (1847–1897), a student of Hebra.

In 1895, he earned his doctorate with a dissertation on pemphigus foliaceus(Materials on the Theory of Pemphigus Foliaceus Cazenave). In 1897, he completed his habilitation. In 1899, he was appointed professor and head of the Dermatology Clinic at the University of Warsaw. At the outbreak of World War I, the entire university was evacuated to Rostov-on-Don. There, Nikolskij founded a new Dermatology Clinic in 1915 and headed it until 1930.

Nikolskij published the first dermatology textbook in the USSR and wrote extensively on the history of dermatology in Russia. In total, he is credited with more than 80 publications.

Additional areas of research: Nikolski’s phenomenon (in the vicinity of a lesion, the epithelium in clinically unaffected skin can be displaced from its underlying layer by lateral pressure; typical of pemphigus vulgaris). Pseudo-Nikolsky phenomenon (=Nikolsky phenomenon II/ the ability to displace a blister without it rupturing; a nonspecific phenomenon seen in various bullous dermatoses). Other areas of work: balneotherapy, X-ray therapy for skin diseases.

1. Levin A, Potekaev N (1959) The 100th anniversary of the birth of P. V. Nikol'ski, an outstanding Soviet dermatologist. Klin Med (Mosk) 37:141–144.
2. Nikolskiy PV (1896) Materials for the Study of Pemphigus foliaceus Cazenavi. Dissertation
3. Nikolskiy PV (1922) Instability of the stratum corneum in relation to mechanical influences. Medicinskaya Mysi 2: 65–71