Albert Rhoton, Jr

Albert Loren Rhoton Jr., (November 18, 1932 – February 21, 2016) was an American neurosurgeon and a professor specializing in microsurgical neuroanatomy. 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.

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.