Moisei Schwartz: A military surgeon, educator, and researcher

The personnel of the Department of Dentistry (after 1942, the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Dentistry) of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov made major contributions to the advancement of dentistry and maxillofacial surgery in Russia. This essay focuses on the professional life of Associate Professor Moisei Schwartz, Major of the Medical Service, whose research significantly contributed to experimental dentistry and periodontology. The essay uses the data presented in Russian literature on dentistry and maxillofacial surgery, as well as the recollections of dentists who knew Moisei Schwartz personally: V.P. Zabelin, Colonel of the Medical Service, and Associate Professor V.V. Fiolkovsky, Colonel of the Medical Service. Associate Professor Moisei Schwartz, Major of the Medical Service, performed several studies of the functional properties of jaw vessels, primarily mandibular vessels. He was the first to use the Kravkov–Pisemsky technique in dentistry to assess the effect of biogenic amines on isolated jaw vessels. His comparative studies of ear and jaw vessels in dogs using this technique revealed that jaw vessels are hypersensitive to acetylcholine, histamine, and adrenaline. In 1936, Moisei Schwartz developed an experimental periodontitis model using chronic irritation (ligation) of the inferior alveolar nerve in dogs. Moisei Schwartz fought in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940, as well as the World War II (1941–1945). Moisei Schwartz was a prominent scientist and experienced doctor with good manual skills, including surgical care in maxillofacial wounds. Moreover, he was a passionate researcher and educator. His contributions to experimental dentistry and periodontology are impossible to exaggerate.