Albert Rhoton Jr.

Rhoton was born on November 18, 1932, in the small town of Parvin, Kentucky. He grew up in a log cabin without plumbing or electricity in rural eastern Kentucky. His family moved to Akron, Ohio during the Second World War where his father was a rubber chemist. Rhoton earned his Bachelor Degree in social work, before entering a premedical program at the Ohio State University. ==Career==

Rhoton began as a staff neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1966. At the University of Florida, Rhoton Jr. built the world's largest collection of three-dimensional images of the brain, used internationally by neurosurgeons. In 2014 Rhoton was the director of the Neuro-Microanatomy Lab at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida. ==Research==

Microsurgical techniques Specializing in microsurgical neuroanatomy, he developed and introduced a number of microsurgical techniques that improved the safety and effectiveness of neurosurgery. He developed and introduced a number of microsurgical techniques that improved the safety and effectiveness of neurosurgery, including the use of the surgical microscope in neurosurgery. He ultimately developed over 200 neurosurgical instruments, Such tools in use worldwide include the Rhoton Micro Dissectors designed for delicate work in the treatment of brain aneurysms and tumor resection. ==Professional activities==

Rhoton served as the President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the North American Skull Base Society, the International Interdisciplinary Congress on Craniofacial and Skull Base Surgery, the Florida Neurosurgical Society, and the International Society for Neurosurgical Technology and Instrument Invention. He served as the honored guest or was elected to honorary membership in more than 20 neurosurgical societies throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. ==Awards==

• 1981, Distinguished Faculty Award, University of Florida • 1984, Alumni Achievement Award, Washington University School of Medicine • 1993, Honored Guest, Congress of Neurological Surgeons • 1997, Jamieson Medal and Lecturer, Neurosurgical Society of Australasia • 1998, Harvey Cushing Medal, American Association of Neurological Surgeons • 2000, Herbert Olivecrona Award, Karolinska Institutet, the "Nobel Prize of Neurosurgery" • 2001, Medal of Honor, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies • 2001, Medal of Honor, Neurosurgical Society of America • 2002, Lifetime Achievement Award, University of Florida • 2006, Founder's Laurel, Congress of Neurological Surgeons • 2009, Golden Neuron Award, World Academy of Neurological Surgery ==Personal life==

He and his wife Joyce ==Books==

• Cranial Anatomy and Surgical Approaches (2003), written by Albert Rhoton Jr. == References ==