L.O. Darkshevich and his contribution to the study of neuromuscular diseases

The paper presents an analysis of the scientific legacy of Professor L.O. Darkshevich, one of the founders of Russian neurology, an outstanding neuropathologist and neurohistologist. It highlights his life path leading up to his professorship at the Department and Clinic of Nervous Diseases of the Imperial Kazan University. The key role of the scientist in the study of neuromuscular pathology at the turn of the 19^th–20^th centuries is demonstrated. Based on an analysis of his fundamental work “Course of Nervous Diseases” and archival photographic materials from the collection of the Clinic of Nervous Diseases of Kazan University, the main scientific achievements of the scientist are examined: studies of arthrogenic and cerebral amyotrophies, and the classification of muscle atrophies. Special attention is paid to the role of medical photography in systematizing clinical observations. It is shown that Darkshevich’s work established standards for clinical-morphological analysis and visual diagnosis of neuromuscular pathology, influencing subsequent generations of neurologists.