Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 218-221. (Budapest, 2012)
KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Gosztonyi György: Környey István (1901-1988)
GOSZTONYI, Gy.: István Környey (1901--I988) 121 Környey’s scientific interest focused on the neuropathological research. One of his coworkers with interest in morphology was entrusted with the leading of the histological laboratory. This colleague was partially or completely exempt from clinical routine duties. In 1957 a chemist, Ferenc Galiyas, became the co-worker, and, later on, the mainstay of the neuropathological laboratory. Years ahead of the introduction of immunohistochemistry Galiyas elaborated highly specific impregnation procedures on the basis of physical development for the demonstration of various glia cell types, neuronal structure elements and certain degenerative cellular products. His impregnation techniques were taken over and applied worldwide in neuropathological laboratories. In 1980 Galiyas became the first professor of neuropathology in Hungary. The processing of the nervous system of patients deceased in the Clinic was yielded to the Neuropathological Laboratory by the Institute of Pathology. The dissection of the fixed brains was performed after the late afternoon conference, in the presence of the medical staff. The study and demonstration of the histological alterations, the discussion of clinico- pathological correlations took place under similar conditions, lasting sometimes till the late evening hours. Not infrequently, Saturday evening was chosen for the histological conferences. “Everybody used to have time Saturday nights " - Környey used to say. As years went by, the histological archive of the Clinic held possession of cases suitable to study and demonstrate almost any chapter of neuropathology. The Clinic gave evidence already in the early years of Környey’s professorship of an excellent scientific activity. In 1955 was published Környey’s monograph, written in German, on the clinic and histopathology of anoxic-vasal cerebral damage.17 18 19 Since the diffuse oxygen deficiency of the brain results in clinical and pathological pictures distinct from those of circumscribed, ischemic circulatory disturbances, the monograph filled a gap and offered significant support for the interpretation of these pathological conditions. One year later appeared Irene Jakab's monograph on the drawings and paintings of mental patients in French and German.18 19 She came to Pécs from the Clinic of Neurology and Psychiatry of Marosvásárhely in Transylvania, had great interest in psychiatry and soon became in Pécs the main representative of the psychiatric profile of the Clinic. She had gathered the material of her monograph partly by selecting from the material of the previous director of the Clinic, partly from her own collection. After the famous classic monograph of Hans Prinzhorn, published in 1922, Jakab’s work was in this topic the next publication of similar volume and value. She became years later in the USA the internationally recognized specialist of this topic. The third monograph published in the clinic was the work of F. Tibor Mérei, Tivadar Hasznos and Endre Grastyán, reporting on the pathophysiology of the experimental brain concussion.20 17 Környcy St.: Histopathologie und klinische Symptomatologie der anoxisch-vasalen Hirnschädigungen. 1st and 2nd cd. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1955.239. 18 Jakab I.: Dessins et peintures des aliénés. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1956. 147 . 19 Jakab I.: Zeichnungen und. Gemälde der Geisteskranken. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1956, 168. 20 Mérei F.T., Hasznos T., Grastyán E.: Experimentelle Beiträge zur Pathogenese der Commotio cerebri. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1957. 128.
