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This paper provides an analysis of Andrija Štampar’s activities after World War II on the establishment of effective international health. Analyzed archival materials have confirmed with numerous evidence that Štampar as the president of the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization (WHO) played a crucial role in the establishment of the ideological starting points and organization of the WHO system, which remain relevant to date. Apart from the strategic foundations, it has been shown that his principles regarding the need for practical action based on the best professional knowledge and experience have no alternatives. The above is presented in the paper with the details of Štampar’s activities during the cholera epidemic in Egypt and associated with the experiences of the recent global crisis caused by the COVID pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, electrotherapy was applied worldwide with various incidence and different results. The application of electrotherapy is an indicator of the acquisition and transfer of knowledge from the basic sciences (physics) to medicine and the transfer and adoption of treatment procedures from foreign environments to our own. In Croatia, the earliest information on electrotherapy came from advertising electrotherapy devices in the daily newspapers. It was followed by lessons on electricity, as well as the possibilities of its application mostly written by physicists in their popular publications. Croatian doctors’ publications about their experiences were first uncovered in 1897 on the pages of the professional journal Liječnički Vjesnik. This paper elaborates on the publications written during the first half of the 20th century. From the very beginning, this method has been accompanied by debates about its effectiveness and justification for its use, which have continued until today. The preserved electrotherapeutic devices presented in this paper are an important addition to medical historiography and a valuable segment of material medical culture, traces of which have been preserved in Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review describes the first medical article written by an author from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article was published by Fr. Franjo Gracić (1740-1799), in Latin, under the title: “Analysis theorico-practica de viribus virus febriferi, pestiferi, atque serpentin”, and printed in Padua in 1795, translated as: “A Theoretical and Practical Presentation of the Effects of Fevers, Infectious Diseases, and Snake Poison”. From today’s standpoint, it may be said that it was a review article about some of the most frequent diseases of that time. The paper is of exceptional importance for the history of medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina because it is the first documented medical article whose author was from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper contains observations of the course of diseases and treatment, in line with the medical insights of the time. The author refers to the authorities of that time, such as Samuel Auguste André Tissot, the Swiss physicist and doctor, Georg Bauer, the German doctor, and Lodovico Antonio Muratori, the Italian scholar, which makes this article a link between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the knowledge of the Europe of that time. This paper represents the beginning of medical writing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has a very important place in the history of medicine in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the first 20 years of publication of the scientific journal AMHA – Acta medico‑historica Adriatica (2002–2022) are presented and analysed. This journal has undoubtedly become and remained the central activity of the Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture, which has rapidly evolved into a globally esteemed journal in the history of medicine. The beginning and the context of publishing the journal with reference to the scientific conference “Rijeka and Its Citizens in Medical History” are presented, as well as the journal’s profiling into a distinguished international scientific journal, co-publishing with the Faculty of Medicine (University of Rijeka) and its fast development in the later years. The analysis shows the growth of the journal’s visibility through indexation in different international journal databases, the number and ratio of scientific articles and the variety of published material. Finally, a review of the potential future directions of development and the significance of this journal within the national, regional and international context is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Latin works dealing with medicine and physicians, published in seventeenth-century Kraków. The main purpose of the research is to present the leading persons of academic medicine working in those times in this city and to follow through the selected works, which constitute a part of Neo-Latin literature in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The scholastic way of the discourse did not always mean overuse of the authorities, however both ancient and modern were being evoked. By presenting the segment of the medical milieu of seventeenth-century Kraków, namely those academics who published their works there, the author claims that sometimes the neglected Latin editorial production of the Cracovian printing shops is an important part not only for the history of the development of medicine in this region of Europe but also for the cultural heritage of the state’s community. Although the Latin language might enable the broader extent of these medical works, most of them were addressed to a particular scientific public. The essay shows that many medical doctors were known for their activities in various fields, such as poetry and city management, and that the panegyrical works may serve as one of the sources of recognition of their biographies and medical output as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the form and content of the sixteen scientific conferences "Rijeka and its Citizens in Medical History" ("Rijeka i Riječani u medicinskoj povjesnici") which were held in the period between 2000 and 2016 according to the archive data of the conference organizer Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture. It presents data about the beginning of science convention, some its organisational features and the number of participants. A total of 315 presentations, whose abstracts were published in individual conference's abstract books, were given at the sixteen conventions by 463 participants from Croatia and abroad. It is emphasized that the great number of the papers printed in extenso are published in the journal AMHA - Acta medico-historica Adriatica. Summarised quantity data on the number of presented papers, number of presenters and number of co-authored papers are given. Finally, a review of the significance of this convention within the regional, national and international aspect is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the typology of medical-historical information provided by parish registers from Transylvania – a category of primary sources used mainly by historical demographers. The approach is descriptive and prospective in character: it creates a typology of the medical information to be found in the sources, while highlighting possible research directions and approaching a series of methodological and interpretation issues. The parish registers contain references to medical actors (the midwife, the physician, the death inspector), to medical activities (vaccination), and to events regarding the history of medicine (multiple births, infant mortality, death-causing diseases and accidents, epidemics, etc.). Despite the fact that they provide mainly demographic data, some epidemiological and medicine-related information can prove interesting for researchers in the field of the history of medicine. Such information is suitable for serial analyses and in some cases even for collective biography studies of the medical staff (e.g., the birth assistants and midwives), thus cross-referencing in many respects with cultural and social history. However, probably for reasons related to the sources’ accessibility, medical historians have not seemed very interested in these data, a situation which will hopefully change in the near future due to the newly compiled historical population databases. The conclusions reached in this paper point towards the variety of medical-historical information contained in parish registers, highlighting the need for reconsidering them as sources not only for historical demography, but also for medical history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health of officers (as well as the entire army) is exposed to additional risks due to the performance of various life-threatening tasks for the needs of the state. Therefore, it is not unusual for the state to take care of the health of its officers (as well as the army) through a system of Vojvodina medical care or specialised society through the construction of military or officer health resorts [Militärkurhaus / Offizierskurhaus] with the provision of medical/ health services. The subject of this paper is the relationship between architecture and the provision of military-medical services of officer/military health resorts built by the Society of the White Cross [Gesellschaft vom Weißen Kreuze] in Kvarner at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The research is based on data collected from Austrian architectural, medical and tourist magazines and yearbooks of Austrian Society of the White Cross. The results of the research contribute to a better understanding of the improvement of the health of officers, the development of the architecture of health buildings [Kurhaus] and the entire history of medicine and health tourism in the Croatian Adriatic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicine and physicians in Dubrovnik during the last two centuries, i.e. in the period after the dissolution of the Republic of Dubrovnik by Napoleon's Army, have attracted less interest among medical historians. In this paper, the lives and medical careers of two physicians from Dubrovnik, father and son, Baldo and Ante Bibica, have been reconstructed from the end of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century by searching through the contemporary medical journals and newspapers as well as private archives of the members of family Bibica. Baldo Bibica graduated medicine in Vienna and spent the whole professional life as a municipal physician, at first, in the places in the vicinity of Dubrovnik and from 1903 in Gruž. Ante Bibica studied medicine in Graz and in Zagreb to become the first person from Dubrovnik promoted at the School of Medicine, Zagreb University. He specialized in dermatovenereology in Vienna and worked, as a specialist, in Dubrovnik. They both were active in the professional medical societies (at local and national levels) and were influential in the social life in Dubrovnik. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Order of St. Augustine (Ordo Eremitarum Sancti Augustini) was the first religious community in Rijeka. The monastery of St. Jerome, founded by the noble families of Devin and Walsee, existed from the 14th century till 1788, when it was dissolved by Joseph II. Unfortunately, the past of the Augustine Monastery of St. Jerome is mostly unknown. On the basis of largely unexplored sources in Croatia and overseas, the author reveals several facts about the relation between Rijeka's Augustinian community and medicine. The paper includes an important piece of information concerning the existence of a hospital on the location of Andrejšćica in Rijeka, founded in the 15th century, which has so far been unknown. Augustinian's sources (16th and 18th century) show the presence of several shaver-surgeon (barbitonsorius) and other various relevant topics for the history of medicine in Rijeka - pharmacopola, aromatarius etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the differences between English and Croatian views of early modem medicine through the respective Renaissance plays. As Renaissance made no particular distinction between arts and sciences, plays of that time provide a very common source of medical narrative. During Renaissance both languages produced high literary achievements, which makes them exemplars among their Germanic and Slavic counterparts, and justifies this comparison, regardless of their significant differences. One should bear in mind that while England was a unified kingdom, with London as the major cultural centre, Croatia's division among the neighbouring powers produced several prominent cultural centres such as Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Hvar, Korčula, and the most important one, Dubrovnik. One should also bear in mind that the golden age of Croatian Renaissance plays had finished as early as 1567 with the death of Marin Držić, before it even started in England with the foundation of the first permanent theatrical companies in 1576. Along these lines, this paper compares their early modern attitudes toward medicine in general and men and women practitioners in particular. In this respect, it evaluates the influences of the origin, patronage, and religion of their authors. Special attention is given to William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and Marin Držić (1508-1567) as the exemplars of English and Croatian Renaissance literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the form and content of the first ten science conventions "Rijeka and its Citizens in Medical History" ("Rijeka i Riječani u medicinskoj povjesnici") which were held in the period between 2000 and 2009 according to the archive data of the convention organizers Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture. It presents data on the inception of the idea of a science convention, its organisational features (organisins committees, presiding committees, convention topics, venue, patrons) and number of participants. A total of 174 presentations whose abstracts were published in individual Convention Collections were given at the ten conventions by 103 different authors from Croatia and neighbouring countries. After the first ten years the entire material was compiled and published with an analytical comment in the anniversary issue Znanstveni skup Rijeka i Riječani u medicinskoj povjesnici 2000.-2009. (Scientific Convention Rijeka and its Citizens in Medical History 2000.-2009.) within Biblioteka AMHA. Most of the papers printed in extenso are published in the magazine AMHA - Acta medico historica Adriatica. The aualysis of all presentations provides quantity data on the number of presented papers, number of presenters and number of co-authored papers, as well as quality determinants within the evaluation of the achievement of science convention objectives. The end gives a review of the significance of this convention within the regional, national and international aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the attitude of the society towards the medical profession, which was torn between high social expectations and ideals and medical practice confronted with real-life obstacles. In the 19th century, the physician's position was still precarious and called for a renegotiation in the community. Physician's work was faced with people's distrust and resistance, superstitions and prejudices, folk medicine and religion. Even such ideal qualities as dignity, conscientiousness, and courage, would quickly be called into question by events such as epidemics. Particularly in 19th century rural areas, the physician's position was far from acknowledged and official medicine had yet to win people's trust. This paper explores the polyvalent attitude of people towards medicine and health. It investigates the discourse used to describe health and medicine in daily press, professional and popular literature, as well as in official medical documents of the time. It shows a long struggle of public health care to gain people's approval. During cholera epidemics, which apart from presenting serious threat to human life were an opportunity for medicine to win people's trust and obedience, the attitude towards health gradually began to change. To some extent this was a result of medical advances, new scientific discoveries, and increasing success in abating the epidemics. At the same time, as the society became more secular, medicine slowly gained people's trust and gradually replaced the healing methods of folk medicine. Health was less and less understood as a result of God's will and mercy, and the attitude towards disease began to evolve from passive resignation to an active battle for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The valley of the Neretva river, inhabited with about forty thousand people, is over one hundred kilometres away from the nearest hospital, which becomes particularly problematic in cases of mass casualties. During the Liberation War from January 1991 to June 1996, the War Hospital Metković was organized in the Neretva valley region. This paper deals with the activities of this hospital. The documentary basis for this paper consists of surgery protocols, records of day-clinic checkups at the War Hospital Metković, articles from the press of the period, private correspondence and secondary sources. In the analysed period, 1.831 people wounded in war were successfully treated in this hospital, and there were also 12.000 one-time checkups. The work and activities of war hospitals represent important chapters in the history of medicine. Research of the organization and functioning of these institutions contributes to the development of insights and experiences regarding organized medical care in the zone of immediate war activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Eugen Cerkovnikov, PhD (Kamenska, Russia, 1904 - Rijeka, Croatia 1985) graduated in chemical technology from the Faculty of Engineering in Zagreb in 1929. His first job was at the School of Medicine in Paris in 1930, and then he moved to Zagreb to the Department of Organic Chemistry of the Faculty of Engineering run by our Nobel Prize winner Vladimir Prelog (1935-1938). There he took his PhD degree with a dissertation on piperidine gamma derivatives. From 1938 to 1947 he was a research associate at an institute established by the pharmaceutical company Kaštel (later Pliva). This is when he became a lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Zagreb and the first director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry, established in 1946/47. In 1948 he became reader, and in 1956 (full) professor. In 1957 he moved to the newly established School of Medicine in Rijeka, and set up the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He ran the Institute until retirement in 1975. He was the second dean of the Rijeka University School of Medicine and a pioneer of quantum chemistry and medical cybernetics in undergraduate and (post)graduate courses. His scientific work consists of over 200 papers published at home and abroad, 60 professional papers, 20 book reviews, three works of translation, and 27 volumes of lecture notes. In 1958, professor Cerkovnikov established the Croatian Chemical Society and the Rijeka and Istria branches of the nation's Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers, chairing them until 1974. In addition, he was one of the founding fathers, and the first chair of the Health Culture Studies Association in Rijeka (that preceded today's Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture), established in 1965. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain control and domination over a particular territory, medicine was often used as a tool for promoting different interests. Using the activities of the League of Nations Health Organization and the Rockefeller Foundation on the territory of China in 1930s, this paper analyses the interconnection of the international and local factors in the transformation of the traditional Chinese milieu to suit the new and trendy public health projects. These activities were conducted not only to improve the public health conditions in the country, but also to introduce the Chinese public health to the processes of internationalization and standardization to the west oriented type of medicine and medical education. Initiated processes necessarily interfered with the political influences, economical interests and cultural environment as well as with military actions in this very turbulent time of Chinese history. Public health activities were carried out by the group of international experts. Among them the main position took two Croatian physicians: Andrija Štampar (one of the founders of the World Health Organisation later) and Berislav Borčić (a director of the School of Public Health in Zagreb). On the basis of correspondence between these two physicians, as well as the travel diary of Andrija Štampar, this essay presents some less known details about the situation in China and the interlacing between politics and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors were interested in the lectures' themes, organisation, the course, and the accompanied activities at the balneology congress in Opatija in 1904. The congress was organised by the principle of the health resort at the time Professor Dr Julius Glax, and consisted of two separate parts. The first part was held in Opatija from October 13 until 15, 1904. There were lectures, auto-papers, summaries, reports, discussions, and the afternoon expert trip to Crikvenica by boat. In Opatija the participants were shown the spa park, the rehabilitation paths for patients with heart difficulties, marine baths Angiolona and Slatina, the covered spa Erzherzog Ludwig Viktor Bad, and of the health institution Zander Institute. At the accompanying exhibition the Austrian and German companies represented their products, among them still recognised Bayer, C. Reichert in Karl Zeiß. Additionally, the owner of the Zanderinstitut in Opatija Dr Isor Stein presented his own therapeutic aid exerciteur there. The first part of the congress concluded on October 15, 1904 with the great banquet in the hotel Stephanie.The second part of the congress was held from October 16 until 20, 1904. The expert trip was organised to the Austrian Riviera on the Pannonia ship. The participants visited attractions and health institutions in Mali Lošinj, Pula, Brijuni, Rovinj, Grado, Aquileia and Trieste, where they also had expert lectures. The closing ceremony of the second part of the congress was in Trieste, from where the participants returned to Vienna by the special train. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the first 14 years of publication of scientific journal AMHA - Acta medico-historica Adriatica (2003-2016) are presented and shortly analysed. This journal has undoubtedly become and remained the central activity of the Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture, which has rapidly become a globally esteemed journal of history of medicine. The beginning and the context of publishing the journal with the reference to scientific meeting "Rijeka and Its Citizens in Medical History" is presented, as well as the journal's profiling into distinguished international journal and its fast development in later years. The analysis shows the growth of journal's visibility through indexation in different international journal databases, the number and ratio of scientific articles and the variety of published material. Finally, a review of the potential future directions of development and the significance of this journal within the national, regional and international context is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the impressive activity of the Croatian Society for the History of Health Culture on the occasion of the half-century anniversary. The short overall historical review of the Society's history is given, and three particularly important projects are highlighted: the science conventions "Rijeka and its Citizens in Medical History" ("Rijeka i Riječani u medicinskoj povjesnici"), the scientific journal AMHA - Acta medico-historica Adriatica, and the special section called "In honour of Asclepius and Orpheus" ("Asklepiju i orfeju u čast"). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights a commentary written by the neurologist Constantin von Economo on a book published by the Belgian paleontologist Charles Fraipont in 1931. The commentary appears to be Economo’s last opus, published posthumously in early 1933. The reviewed work deals with the evolution of the brain in primates, hominids and humans, presenting some interesting ideas about the phylogeny of the human cerebral hemispheres in conjunction with the living conditions of the genera in consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1929 to 1941, the Vrbas Banate was one of nine provinces of the Kingdom Yugoslavia, and according to historical data, the poorest one, without well-organized and sustainable agriculture production. Naturalistic production and poor animal health control in the Vrbas Banate were the most important risk factors for infectious disease spreading. Anthrax was very prevalent infectious disease in domestic animals and humans in that period, but some data on this disease remain scarce. In this paper epidemiology and clinical investigation of anthrax in the Vrbas Banate are reviewed. Apart from many aggravating factors that influenced the control of anthrax, the veterinary service of Banate contributed to the development of animal husbandry, animal health and public health in that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sacral heritage, religious practices and customs, and the ethnomedical heritage of the Mošćenice region have not had so far the attention of medico-historians, which represents the starting point of this paper. The research of the mentioned dimensions of medico-historical reality of Mošćenice and its surrounding area has been conducted on three levels. Starting with the usual methodology, sacral inventory of certain churches and chapels from the Mošćenice parish is analyzed from the perspective of the history of medicine. After that, the attention is first given to the religious practices motivated by health and then to other traditional forms and practices of health prevention and disease treatment - especially to those concerning people as well as those concerning animals. The scope of this research is to document and present the elements of medico-historical heritage of the Mošćenice region based on religious and other traditional components, but with the intention to enrich the medico-historical mosaic of the eastern Istrian coastal region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the development of modern medicine has helped us detect and treat diseases better than in the past, especially in the field of surgery; the history of medicine may be a trigger that can help us use neglected aspects of prior knowledge for the advancement of modern-day science. Since historical papers that have specifically focused on anorectal diseases are rare, but those that exist contain brief discussions in this field, the current study aims to present a detailed review of Avicenna’s approach to anorectal diseases. Therefore, we reviewed On the Diseases of the Anus, the 17th chapter of the third volume of the Canon of Medicine written by Avicenna, and compared his views on the classification and diagnosis of, and the approach to anorectal diseases with that of modern proctology. Avicenna discussed in detail about anorectal diseases such as hemorrhoid, fissure, perianal abscess and fistula, rectal prolapse, fecal incontinence, and pruritus ani. In addition, we introduce herbs which Avicenna used to treat these diseases. Our findings show that Avicenna’s views on the classification and diagnosis of, and the approach to anorectal diseases have few fundamental differences with modern medicine. In addition, the pharmacological effects of some of the herbs that were recommended by Avicenna, and are used in current medicine are proven. Thus the Medieval knowledge can be further scientifically investigated to develop new therapeutic options for anorectal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast malignancies are one of the most prevalent and major causes of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide. According to the available data, neoplastic lesions of the breast are one of the main causes leading to heavy costs for both the healthcare system and the society. Based on these realities and the fact that different aspects of these malignancies remain unknown to date, and are essential to be determined, these issues make a vast area of research in medicine. Just like the present time, breast neoplasms were under the focus of scientists lived in the past, from all over the world. Accordingly, these malignancies are a group of disease with a long-standing historical background. As a result, it can be claimed that modern-day knowledge of these matters has burgeoned on the extraordinary discoveries and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic methods made through the ages, especially those of the post-medieval era. Recognizing the previous efforts that have been made in this regard will show our future way for us. For this reason, in this paper, we will review the key milestones and vital discoveries in the field of breast neoplasms and some other diseases involving this body organ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the development of modern medicine has helped us detect and treat diseases better than in the past, especially in the field of surgery; the history of medicine may be a trigger that can help us use neglected aspects of prior knowledge for the advancement of modern-day science. Since historical papers that have specifically focused on anorectal diseases are rare, but those that exist contain brief discussions in this field, the current study aims to present a detailed review of Avicenna’s approach to anorectal diseases. Therefore, we reviewed On the Diseases of the Anus, the lyth chapter of the third volume of the Canon of Medicine written by Avicenna, and compared his views on the classification and diagnosis of, and the approach to anorectal diseases with that of modern proctology. Avicenna discussed in detail about anorectal diseases such as hemorrhoid, fissure, perianal abscess and fistula, rectal prolapse, fecal incontinence, and pruritus ani. In addition, we introduce herbs which Avicenna used to treat these diseases. Our findings show that Avicenna’s views on the classification and diagnosis of, and the approach to anorectal diseases have few fundamental differences with modern medicine. In addition, the pharmacological effects of some of the herbs that were recommended by Avicenna, and are used in current medicine are proven. Thus the Medieval knowledge can be further scientifically investigated to develop new therapeutic options for anorectal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper presents liver abscesses, as studied in the ancient Greek and Greco-Roman bibliography. Methods: Numerous references concerning this entity can be found in the writings of the Hippocratic doctors (5th cent. B.C.), Archigenes of Apamea (1st cent. A.D.), Galen (2nd cent. A.D.), Aretaeus of Cappadocia (2nd cent. A.D), Oribasius (4th cent. A.D.), Theophilus Protospatharius (7th cent. A.D.), and Paulus Nicaeensis (7th-10th cent. A.D.). Results: In most cases the clinical manifestations, the prognosis and the method of treatment are presented. In all ancient writings we studied, the rupture of a liver abscess is also part of the main theme. In specific, the path that the fluid would follow after a rupture was considered to be a main prognostic factor, i.e. if the fluid "coursed into the stomach", the patient would definitely die. Conclusions: In this work, an attempt is also made to correlate the ancient descriptions to modern medical entities, such as amebic or pyogenic liver abscess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An original case of incomplete (and reasonably fatal) human trepanation is described in this short paper. The diagnosis was made on the cremated remains of a young adult individual who died in Rome, Italy during the 2nd century AD. Clinical Presentation: The trepanation was incomplete, as death occurred quickly due to vascular lesions, according to the anatomic analysis of the bone piece. Comparable trepanation from Roman times are described and related to this case. Conclusion: Even if archaeological, this case highlights the possibility of such a diagnosis on post-fire fragmented bones. Very suggestive lesions of section are of great interest for the history of such a practice during classical Antiquity. Lastly, from a medical and forensic point of view, such a diagnosis may be of interest during any identification process and research for a cause of death during anthropological analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to bring to the attention of the international community the role in the history of aphasiology of the eminent Renaissance figure, the Extremaduran Francisco Arceo de Fregenal. To present the subject, after a brief biography of this surgeon, we will trace the development of the concept of aphasia up to the 16th century. In some ancient cultures we find that this disorder was described as a "cerebral accident", to be presented subsequently in the Middle Ages as a divine punishment, only for the original idea to be taken up again during the Renaissance. This return to the concept of the early civilisations was not to lead to the formal classification of this condition however, until the studies of Broca and Wernicke were published in the 19th century. The contribution of Arceo lies in the description of clinical cases included in his book De Recta cvrandorum, which are presented in their original written version in Latin accompanied by a translation in English. The first of these cases tells of spontaneous recovery from the disease, and the second of the evolution of a patient with aphasia secondary to traumatic brain injury following surgery. Despite the great value of Arceo's report, the historical context and his professional attitude did not allow for a localisationist interpretation of the concept of aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the most important historical facts about all forensic medicine workplaces in the Czech Republic since the beginning till present day, including a perspective on how to establish a new one. Each of the University Forensic Medicine Institutes or district Departments is covered by at least one author. The oldest institute is in Prague and in Brno, the youngest is in Pardubice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Andelko Wolf graduated medicine from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine in 1947. First he specialised in epidemiology and became head of the Brucellosis Centre in Rijeka for the Istria region. Later he also specialised in dermatovenerology at the Department for Skin and Venereal diseases in Rijeka. He passed the specialty board exam in dermatovenerology in 1958 and became teaching assistant. In 1973, he became assistant professor and in 1981 full professor. At the Department he founded the Laboratory for Mycology and allergology. Later he focused on occupational skin diseases and photodermatology. His doctoral thesis was on the action of light on the skin. He chaired the Clinic and was a member of various Hospital and Medical School committees. He was an excellent clinician undergraduate and graduate student teacher in Rijeka and Zagreb. He published around eighty papers on dermatology, but also on the necessity to reform medical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the establishment of the first quarantine station in the Republic of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik) in 1377, the states and Principalities of Italy developed a sophisticated system of defensive quarantine in an attempt to protect themselves from the ravages of plague. Using largely unknown and unseen historical maps, this paper reconstructs the extent and operation of the system used. It is shown that a cordon sanitaire existed around the coast of Italy for several centuries, consisting of three elements: (i) an outer defensive ring of armed sailing boats in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, (ii) a middle coastal ring of forts and observation towers, and (iii) an inner defensive ring of land-based cavalry. The principles established, although not especially successful at the time against a disease of (then) unknown aetiology, are still used today in attempts to control the spread of infections of animal and human populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of the text have been particularly interested into the organization, the procedure, the accompanying activities as well as the themes covered at 4th International Congress of Thalassotherapy in Opatija in 1908. The Congress was organised by the then head of the thermal spa resort Professor Dr. Julius Glax. The official languages at the Congress were German, French, English, and also Italian and Croatian as the languages of the hosting country. Each lecturer had twenty minutes time to give a lecture or a co-lecture, ten minutes for papers and five for a follow-up discussion. The participants could make use of the information centre of the Congress, in the centre of Opatija, the whole day. Unofficially, the Congress started on 27th September 1908 with the introductory evening for all the participants in Adria Club. The Congress officially began on 28th September 1908 when all the participants gathered at the theatre hall of Hotel Stephanie. The lectures were presented in the morning. In the afternoon, the participants were taken to visit some exhibitions (e.g. the medical exhibition at Hotel Palace, the exhibition of the native Istrian-Dalmatian home crafts and antiquates and the painting exhibition at Vila Angiolina), a short sea voyage through the bay of Kvarner. On the last day of the Congress, the participants observed the sanitary conditions in Opatija (the water supply, the sewer system, litter incinerator, and quarantine for infectious illnesses), three sanatoriums, Zander's Institute, the rehabilitating-heart paths and the Archduke Ludwig-Viktor's indoor baths. The round-Opatija tour was followed by the concluding meeting and the conclusion of the Congress. The authors of this research have established that there are no important differences in the organization and realization of the congresses in the past and now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Born in Rijeka and studied medicine in Vienna, Paris and Prague. He started his medical career in Belgrade State Hospital in 1920 but since 1922 he worked as an assistent at the State Institute of Epidemiology in Zagreb. In 1924 he was sent to USA to specialize in bacteriology, serology and immunology. Back in Zagreb he was engaged in antidiphtheric serum production. Later he became more interested in different aspects of community hygiene. After the World War II he was the Head of Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Zagreb. Later he was appointed as Chief Sanitary Inspector in Zagreb. He was a lecturer in community hygiene at the School of Medicine University of Zagreb. He contributed numerous articles for the Medical Encyclopedia as well as for the Maritime Encyclopedia. He participated actively and lectured at the meetings of the Section for the History of Medicine of the Croatian Medical Association. He published 125 papers, and three of them appeared in the distinguished international scientific journal. He died in 1975 in Zagreb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past centuries, manuscripts containing collections of folk recipes for the treatment of diseases were written mostly by Catholic priests in Croatia. They were used to prepare remedies and gave directions for their use. These writings provide valuable information for ethnographers and historians of pharmacy arid medicine. They describe the types and frequency of diseases afflicting humans and domestic animals in the past, development of ethnopharmacology, folk medical terminology, names of medicinal herbs, and the interaction between folk and science medicine. This is why they need a multi- disciplinary approach to be evaluated properly. This paper presents the 1776 Medicine Book by a priest Petar Kastelan from southern Croatia (Dalmatia). It was found in a private archive and has not yet been published. The collection is written in the Croatian Cyrillic script, which was mostly used from the Middle Ages to the second half of the 19th century by Catholic priests when they wanted to write in Croatian The collection contains 250 recipes for human medical practice and 10 recipes for veterinary medical practice. Thirty recipes contain household advice. Materia inedica of the manuscript is mostly composed of drugs of plant origin. Remedies of animal and mineral origin are also included, but to a smaller extent. Valuable information is given about the folk names for diseases and medicinal plants as well as descriptions of the ways of preparing remedies. Prayers for healing, void of sorcery and magic, are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the International Scientific Conference and Workshop VIII in Croatia on June 20-23, 2007 is presented. It traces the history of medicine from its origin to human striving to overcome weakness and fight disease. It evaluates the artifacts that belong to folk medicine and the latest research on the perception of health and disease. The conference also features several medical personnel including Baiba Podniece, Asta Lignugariene, and Tomislav Pletenac.