Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 218-221. (Budapest, 2012)
KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Gosztonyi György: Környey István (1901-1988)
GOSZTONYI, Gy.: István Környey (1901-1988) 117 chapter in Környey’s professional life. His plain, straightforward relationship with Pette became the basis of an enduring cooperation and a deep, sincere friendship. His time spent in Magdeburg was rather short, nevertheless, very successful, resulting in five publications, concerning mainly the inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. In 1930 Pette was invited to lead the Neurological Department of the St. Georg Hospital in Hamburg, and in 1934 he became the successor of Max Norme to the chair of neurology in the Clinic of Hamburg-Eppendorf. Környey followed Pette to Hamburg, where he truly entered the centre of the European encephalitis-investigation. In cooperation with Pette and Demme they performed the crucial experimental studies on monkeys concerning the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis. Their assessments concerning the entry, the further spread of the infectious agent, and the predilec- tional localization of the lesions in the nervous system were of fundamental importance. Their results were published in a communication of monograph character, amounting to 127 pages, (see: Pette M, Demme H, Környey St., 1932) Környey was involved also in the study of other inflammatory neurological diseases. These included the late sequelae of encephalitis epidemica, the Boma disease, the cerebral lesions caused by the vaccinia virus, and the demyelinating processes. The time spent in Hamburg brought an important change also in his private life. He made the acquaintance here and married a colleague, a young surgeon, Dr. Anneliese Heuck. Due to the changes in the Gentian political situation at the beginning of the 1930s this successful research work, lasting for almost five years, came to an end. His employment at the University of Hamburg was not prolonged by the Gennan authorities. While still in Hamburg, Környey was invited to write two chapters for the series Handbuch der Neurologie, edited by Bumke and Foerster. The topic of the first chapter was myelitis7, that of the second one the topographic diagnostics of the brain stem.8 The second chapter, with almost the character of a monograph, is a comprehensive, profound analysis of the subject, embracing rich data of the literature, which offers even today exhaustive orientation for the everyday neurological diagnostics. Környey returned to Hungary in 1934 as a staid, mature researcher, enriched with ample neurological and neuropathological experience. Dezső Miskolczy was appointed in 1930 to lead the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Szeged, where, one year later, he also founded a Brain Research Institute. Környey, returning to Hungary, was invited by Miskolczy to his Clinic and Institute. Soon thereafter, he habilitated in neuropathology under Miskolczy’s guidance at the University of Szeged. Shortly afterwards, he was invited for a 3-month period to Oslo to participate in the organization of a neuropathological laboratory at the Institute of Anatomy of the University. Later, in this laboratory worked and became world-famous two outstanding Norwegian neuroanatomists, Jan Jansen and AlfBrodal. Advised by Dezső Miskolczy, two members of the Schaffer-School, István Környey and Kálmán Sántha, went to North America, supported by a Rockefeller Fellowship, to gain 7 Környoy St.: Myelitis. Anhang: Dic gangliitisch-wurzclncuritische Form dor Landryschcn Paralyse und der Pscu- dotabes. Bumke-FoersterHdb. Neur. 13: 501 (1936) * Környey St.: Symptomatologie des verlängerten Markes, der Brücke, des Mittclhims und des Schhügcls. Bumke- Foerster Hdb. New. 5: 445 (1936)
