As an independent clinical entity, neuropathology (i.e., neurology) emerged in 1862, when a department for patients with diseases of the nervous system was opened at the Salpêtrière Hospital near Paris. This department was headed by Jean-Martin Charcot (1835–1893), often called the "father of neuropathology".
In Russia, the first neurological department was opened in 1869 on the basis of the Novo-Ekaterininskaya hospital (now Moscow Clinical Hospital No. 24). The initiator of the creation of this department and its first head was an employee of the clinic of social pathology and therapy of Moscow University A.Ya. Kozhevnikov who wrote the first textbook on nervous and mental diseases for students in Russia (1836–1902). He taught students an elective course on nervous diseases and introduced an advanced study of this discipline. Since 1870, a neurological department was opened in the Novo-Ekaterininskaya hospital in Moscow being led by the students of A.Ya. Kozhevnikov.
Since 1884, nervous and mental diseases have been included in the curriculum of medical faculties of Russian universities; at the same time, corresponding departments and clinics began to appear. In Moscow, the unified department of nervous and mental diseases was headed by A.Ya. Kozhevnikov. On his initiative, the first clinic of nervous diseases in Russia was built and opened in 1890; in this clinic, many diseases of the nervous system were studied, in particular neurological and mental disorders that occur with alcoholism and in the settings of poisoning with industrial toxins. Moreover, this clinic’s members described the syndrome of a typical memory disorder in combination with polyneuropathy (Korsakoff’s syndrome), studied a special form of epilepsy, in which seizures occur against the background of persistent myoclonic hyperkinesis (i.e. Kozhevnikov epilepsy). In 1901, A.Ya. Kozhevnikov became one of the creators of the Journal of Neuropathology and Psychiatry named after S.S. Korsakoff, which is still being published today. A.Ya. Kozhevnikov is a founder of the Moscow school of medicine, which includes the major experts made a great contribution to the development of world and domestic neurology, including
V.K. Roth, A.V. Muratov, L.O. Darkshevich , L.S. Minor, G.I. Rossolimo, M.S. Margulis, E.K. Sepp, N.I. Graschenkov, N.V. Konovalov, E.V. Schmidt, N.K. Bogolepov, etc.
While in Moscow, neuropathology was formed on the basis of a therapeutic service; in St. Petersburg, neurological science began to develop on the basis of the Department of Mental Diseases of the Medical and Surgical Academy, established in 1857 (since 1881 — Military Medical Academy). Since the 1880s, the educational course of nervous diseases at this department was taught by I.P. Merezhkovsky (1838–1908). Since 1893, the Department of Nervous and Mental Diseases of the Military Medical Academy was headed by V.M. Bekhterev (1857–1927). In 1897, a neurological clinic created with the active participation of V.M. Bekhterev was opened at this depart-ment. The St. Petersburg school includes such outstanding neurologists as L.V. Blumenau, M.P. Zhukovsky, M.P. Nikitin, M.I. Astvatsaturov, etc.
Russian neurologists not only developed methods for treatment and diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system, but also showed a great interest in theoretical issues related to the anatomy, histology and physiology of the nervous system. They actively opposed any attempts to introduce unscientific concepts into medicine and biology. V.M. Bekhterev, G.I. Rossolimo, V.K. Roth, and other scientists sympathized with the democratic flow of public ideas. Russian neurologists were not only doctors, scientists, but also policy makers of neurological care; they opened new clinics, expanded the possibilities of providing care for patients in existing medical institutions, fought against social diseases (alcoholism, neurosyphilis, neuroses, etc.). They did not ignore the achievements of world science, appreciated them and willingly applied them in their scientific and practical activities. In turn, the advances of Russian neurology had a significant impact on the neurological science of foreign countries. V.M. Bekhterev, G.I. Rossolimo, L.O. Darkshevich and others made a great contribution to the world neurology. In 1897, on the initiative of V.M. Bekhterev, the world’s first neurosurgical operating room was opened at the Military Medical Academy in St. Petersburg.
In 1909, one of the world’s first departments of surgical neuropathology was established in St. Petersburg headed by L.M. Puusepp. In 1914, a specialized neurosurgical clinic named after N.I. Pirogov with 200 hospital beds was opened at the Psychoneurological Institute in St. Petersburg. In 1914, in Vitebsk, L.M. Puusepp organized the world’s first specialized Military Neurosurgical Hospital.
In 1926, on the initiative of A.G. Molotkov and S.P. Fedorov, the world’s first Institute of Surgical Neurology was opened in Leningrad later renamed as the A.L. Polenov’s Neurosurgical Institute. Major neurosurgeons such as I.A. Babchin, V.M. Ugryumov and others worked in it. In 1930s, neurosurgical clinics were established in Kharkiv, Rostov-on-Don, Moscow, and other cities. In 1932, the surgeon N.N. Burdenko together with the neurologist V.V. Kramer created an independent Institute of Neurosurgery in Moscow. Such well-known neurosurgeons as B.G. Egorov, A.A. Arendt, I.M. Irger, A.I. Arutyunov, as well as leading representatives of various related specialties (neuroradiologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, neurootologists, etc.) worked at the Institute.
Since 1937, they have been publishing the journal “Questions of Neurosurgery”. In 1944, the Institute of Neurology of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences was established in Moscow, where famous neurologists N.I. Grashchenkov, N.V. Kono-valov, E.V. Schmidt, R.A. Tkachev and others worked. Many textbooks on neurology, many monographs on various problems of neurology and neurosurgery have been published. Many works of Russian neurologists and neurosurgeons have received worldwide recognition. Among them, the studies of S.N. Davidenkov on hereditary diseases of the nervous system, N.V. Konovalov on hepatocerebral dystrophy, N.K. Bogolepov on comatose states, E.V. Schmidt on cerebrovascular pathology, etc., can be noted.