Krishna C.V.G. Rao, 1936–2003

Roy D. Strand; S. Howard Lee

American Journal of Neuroradiology

Krishna C. V. G. Rao, MD, FACR, died from complications of pulmonary fibrosis on November 1, 2003. His father, C.V.H. Rao, worked as a journalist with the Indian government. His mother, C. Lingamamba, was a homemaker. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Kusuma Rao; a son, Anil; a sister, Karuna; and two brothers, Hari and Ramu.

Kris served with distinction as an academician, practitioner, and consultant in neuroradiology. Most recently he was a consultant in neuroradiology at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC (1992–2003).

Kris and Kusuma spent much of their professional life in Baltimore, Maryland. He served at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine beginning in 1975, first as a section chief in neuroradiology, advancing to full professor in 1983, and resigning as clinical professor in 1991. He was chair of the Department of Radiology, Prince George’s General Hospital (1985–1998), and consultant neuroradiologist, Bethesda Naval Medical Center (1988–1990).

From the mid-1970s through 1997, Kusuma was on the pathology staff at the Maryland Department of Health. Kris and Kusuma lived in a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home in the country near Ellicott City, Maryland, midway between Baltimore and Washington. That home became a focal point for marvelous social occasions. Kris and Kusuma raised two fine boys, Anil and Sudhir. Sadly, Sudhir preceded his father in death by less than a year.

Kris’s Bachelor of Science (1954), and medical (1960) degrees were from Madras University, Madras, India. He engaged briefly in private practice. Kris entered internship at Grassland Hospital in Valhalla, New York in 1969. His residency was in diagnostic radiology at the New England Medical Center and the Boston VA Hospital of Tufts University (1970–1973). Kris’s fellowship in neuroradiology was divided between Tufts New England Medical Center with program director Samuel Wolpert and the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, with program director Derek Harwood-Nash. His training under these two mentors, each who served as president of the American Society of Neuroradiology, no doubt provided the basis for his highly successful career.

Kris and one of us (S.H.L) enjoyed a more than 20-year-long partnership in writing multiple editions of one of the standard neuroradiological texts, Cranial Computed Tomography (1982), that is well accepted by radiology residents and fellows as well as neuroscience colleagues in and beyond the North American continent. That text was expanded in substance and title to Cranial MR Imaging and CT. Dr. Robert A. Zimmerman joined the editing team for the third revised edition (1992). The Spanish edition was published in 1994. The fourth revised edition was published in 1997.

Kris was the primary editor along with J. P. Williams, B. C. P. Lee, and J. Sherman, of the exceedingly useful MR Imaging and CT of the Spine (1994). This text had little competition as a practical guide to spinal imaging, especially in differentiating degenerative from inflammatory diseases.

Kris wrote or coauthored sixty original imaging articles and numerous radiological book chapters. Among the individual awards he received was a citation by the Sixth Asian Congress of Radiology for his contributions to imaging sciences. Kris was president of the Susruta Society of Radiology, Association of American Radiologist of Indian Origin (1986–1991).

Kris will be remembered for his affable greetings and kind approach to his medical colleagues and friends. He was very straightforward and always honest. His easy manner endeared him to his many friends all around the world.