Dr. B Ramamurthi

http://www.mmc.tn.gov.in/Department/Neurology/dep_Neuro.html

Dr.Ramamurthi (fondly called Prof.BRM) was born in Sirkazhi. His father Captain T.S.Balasubramaniam was an Assistant Surgeon in the Government Hospital then. His grandfather′s brother was Shri G.Subramania Iyer, one of the founders of the English daily The Hindu. Prof.BRM studied at the ER High School in Trichy. He completed an MS in General Surgery from the Madras Medical College and went on to complete FRCS at Edinburgh in 1947. He also became a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences in 1962, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences in 1972, Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1981 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine of London in 1983. He was the Founder Secretary of the Neurological Society of India. In 1960, Dr.B.Ramamurthi and his team, Drs.V.Balasubramaniam, S.Kalyanaraman and TSKanaka supported by their neurologist counterparts Drs.G.Arjundas and K.Jagannathan, became the earliest team in India to perform Stereotactic surgery procedures

In the early 1970s, Dr.Ramamurthi built the Institute of Neurology, Madras on the lines of the Montreal Neurological Institute at Canada, with all branches of neurosciences under one roof. He started the Dr A Lakshmipathi Neurosurgical Centre at the Voluntary Health Services (VHS) Hospital at Adyar in 1977-1978, named after his father-in-law, Dr.A.Lakshmipathi. VHS Hospital was the brainchild of Dr.K.S.Sanjivi. Prof.BRM served as the Dean of the Hospital and Principal of the Madras Medical College and Honorary Vice Chancellor of the Madras University during his long and extensive years as a teacher, mentor and guide. He was appointed as the President of the World Federation of Neurosurgeons in 1987 and also served as the former President of the National Board of Medical Examinations in India. Amongst the many units of neurosurgery he helped set up, the National Brain Research Centre (Manesar, near New Delhi), as an apex body for the coordination of brain research in the country, was his dream come true.

Married to Dr.Indira Ramamurthi, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr.Ramamurthi is survived by his two sons, Vijayaraghavan Ramamurthi, a journalist, and Ravi Ramamurthi, a neurosurgeon.

The Ramamurthi Neurosciences Museum in Chennai is named after him [3]. He wrote his autobiography titled "Uphill all the way" which was released by the Chief Minister Karunanidhi in Jan 2000

http://www.societyns.org/society/bio.aspx?MemberID=28339

Ravi Ramamurthi, MD Chennai, India B. RAMAMURTHI was born in 1922 to a family of scholars and of social reformers, graduating in medicine from the Madras Medical College in 1943, as the best outgoing student, and acquired the degree of Master of Surgery and the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1947. After training in Neurosurgery with Mr. G.F. Rowbotham in the U.K. and with Professor Penfield in Montreal, he returned to India in 1950 to set up the department of neurosurgery at the Madras Medical College.

In a few years he was able to set up postgraduate training courses in the Neurosciences. He encouraged many young surgeons to take up neurosurgery and helped to create many departments of neurosurgery in India. The prevention and treatment of head injuries were priorities and he established the first head injury unit in the country. He was the founder secretary of the Neurological Society of India and later its President and founder Editor Neurology India.

In 1970 he established the Institute of Neurology, Madras, housing all neuroscience specialties. The surgeons of India recognized his contributions to surgery by selecting him President of the Association of Surgeons of India and the medical profession by electing him President of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. He has published a large number of papers on many aspects of neurosciences. He is a member of many foreign neurosurgical societies including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, The American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, and the Neurosurgical Society of America. He is on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery and Surgical Neurology. He was Vice President of the World Federation of Neurosurgeons and was selected as the President of the World Congress of Neurosurgery in 1989; he became an Honorary President of the World Federation. For contributions to neurosurgery in the Armed Forces of the country, Ramamurthi was made an honorary Brigadier and his service to the country was recognized by the President of India by the award of the title Padma Bhushan, equivalent to a knighthood.

Dr. Ramamurthi headed the Department of Neurosurgery in the Voluntary Health Services, a charitable hospital. He was also the President of the National Board of Medical Examinations in India.

Dr. Ramamurthi’s hobbies were history and languages and recreations were swimming and golf. He was helped throughout his career by his wife Indira, herself a Professor of Obstetrics and they had two sons, Vijay and Ravi