Ion Tănăsescu

Ion Tănăsescu (September 1, 1875 – January 25, 1954) was a Romanian surgeon and anatomist.

Born in Fălticeni, he began high school in his native town, but later moved to Iași, graduating in 1896. From that year until 1902, he studied medicine at the University of Iași; his thesis dealt with hydrocele and its treatment. In 1903, he left for Paris, where he attended the surgical clinics of professors Henri Albert Hartmann, Théodore Tuffier, and Paul Poirier. Working in the latter's anatomical laboratory, his aptitude was quickly noticed and he was selected to prepare the dissection specimens that the professor used in his courses. During this period, Tănăsescu published a number of works on anatomy that showed his meticulousness as a researcher and wish to explore more obscure areas.

Upon his return from Paris in 1907, he was named surgical assistant at the clinic led by Leon Sculy Logothetides. After passing an examination and going through a competition, he was hired as a professor at the Iași anatomy department. In 1912, when Ernest Juvara left for the national capital Bucharest, he was named professor of topographic anatomy and clinical surgery. The following year, when the department was split, Tănăsescu remained in the surgery field, and continued as professor until he was obliged to retire in 1940. serving until 1940. He died in Bucharest in 1954.

Alongside his prodigious publishing activity, Tănăsescu was president of the Iași doctors' and naturalists' society from 1914 to 1920 He also belonged to the International Society of Surgery. a number of his students became both prominent anatomists and surgeons. The latter group included Nicolae Hortolomei, Vladimir Buțureanu, and .