History of the research laboratory (medicinal and environmental toxicology) of the Military medical academy named after S.M. Kirov

This paper presents the history of the formation of the Research Department of the Experimental Medicine of the Research Center of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov. The department is the only division of the academy that conducts experiments on animal models and field tests using laboratory animals in the interests of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The paper also presents the main scientific achievements and development prospects of one of the three laboratories of the department — Research Laboratory of Medicinal and Environmental Toxicology. In the direction of “drug toxicology,” the laboratory staff worked for >15 years in cooperation with the Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushchino) on the problems of perfluorocarbon-based blood substitutes. The results of the study helped deepen the understanding of the mechanisms of the physiological activity of perfluorocarbon emulsions and the expansion of the areas of clinical application of perftoran. The ecotoxicological direction of scientific research is represented by two large-scale cycles of scientific studies. The first was devoted to the medical support of oil refining to increase the protection of personnel who have been professionally exposed to toxic chemicals from the damage caused by chemical accidents. The second area of environmental research, which has been significantly updated in recent years, is devoted to the study of remote environmental and biomedical consequences of the use of chemical weapons by the US Army in the period from 1966 to 1972 in Vietnam. In recent years, the laboratory has focused on problems related to the search and development of new radiation countermeasure agents including biotechnological products and their compositions. Studies are also being conducted to improve the complex therapy of patients with sepsis, in which methods of extracorporeal blood purification are used in the treatment. These works are relevant for military and civilian health care and are performed in cooperation with the departments of the academy and several leading research organizations in St. Petersburg.