The life and professional activity of Joseph Fedorovich Zhordaniya
on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of his birth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61699/cjmps-v3-i3-4-p1-32Keywords:
Joseph Fedorovich Zhordania (Jordania), military gynecologу, military gynecologists and obstetricians, artificial insemination, human reproductive system, infertility treatmentAbstract
Throughout history, many doctors have become not just doctors, but also symbols of entireeras, changing perceptions of health and disease, as well as the role of a doctor in society.Professor Joseph Fedorovich Zhordania (Jordania), whose 130th birthday was celebrated onMay 15, 2025, was one of them. Based on literature sources and documentary materials, thisarticle explores the milestones of the biography of the Honored Scientist of the RSFSR andthe GSSR, chief obstetrician-gynecologist of the Red Army, leading obstetrician-gynecologist ofthe Soviet Union, a remarkable researcher and experimenter, founder of military gynecology,an experienced teacher, a talented scientist and organizer of the Scientific Research Institute for the Physiology and Pathology of Women of the Ministry of Health of the Georgian SSR,which was the only such institute in the USSR at the time, and only the second one in theworld. During his life, I.F. Zhordania served as head of the Departments of Obstetrics andGynecology at major higher medical institutions in Leningrad, Moscow, Kuybyshev, and Tbilisi.His scientific work was devoted to the physiology of childbirth, the pathology of womenduring pregnancy, eclampsia, surgical care for women with genital wounds, etc. As a doctorand scientist, I.F. Zhordania formulated the concept of “infertile marriage”. During this time,there were many grateful patients, and scientific papers were published. Before the era ofin vitro fertilization, when there was no hope of having children, there was a saving phrase:“I’m going to Zhordania.” In 1958, Professor I.F. Zhordania became the head of the ScientificResearch Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Women of the Ministry of Health of the USSR.Subsequently, the institute was named the Institute of Human Generative Function, and thenthe I.F. Zhordania Research Institute of Human Reproduction. The Department of Sociologyand Demography of Healthcare, established at the Institute’s founding, has been studying thedemographic situation in certain regions of the republic, developing appropriate medical andsocio-demographic recommendations, providing assistance to married couples experiencingchildlessness, identifying puberty disorders, and conducting appropriate wellness activities.The Institute’s plans to provide scientific, methodological, therapeutic and preventive care toorganizations and medical institutions of the Ministry of Health of the USSR corresponded tothese tasks. I.F. Zhordania created a laboratory at the institute to study the issues of artificial lifesupport in human embryos and fetuses outside the maternal body and other laboratories. Theknowledge, experience, and innovations of almost all successful Georgian clinics and doctorsoperating in the field of reproductive health are associated with the Institute Zhordania
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