Acta Medico-Historica Adriatica最新文献

Galen was the first who defined phthisis as lung ulceration, accompanied by coughing, persistent low-grade fevers, and body wasting. Attempts to define tuberculosis and find the cause of the disease belong to significant errors in the period of medical theories about tuberculosis (TB). Even in the 17th century, the most common causes of this disease were pulmonary ulcers, incorrect shape and position of the lungs, or menstruation. This article endeavors to elucidate the history of TB and its therapy in the 17th century on the basis of the Latin inaugural academic disputation De phthisi (On Tuberculosis) from 1679, which was first translated into Slovak in 2021. It was written by Matthaeus Palumbini, a Hungarian physician of Slovak origin born in Turiec County (Comitatus Thurociensis) in the Kingdom of Hungary. Although this dissertation is due to the anatomical, physiological, and clinical views of the Early Modern period, the ideas about the disease inhalation route as well as the fact that the disease transmission happens indirectly through the air, are close to existing knowledge. Similarly, the TB classification, the description of indications, climatic treatment, or principles of healthy lifestyle surprisingly correlate with the current medical practice. The article is supplemented by examples of the period of drug prescriptions that constituted a part of the therapy. The archival source of the original text comes from the Digitale Sammlungen der Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg.

During the Interwar period (1918-1939), financial aid and technical assistance were given to countries worldwide by the League of Nations Health Organisation (LNHO) in an attempt to reform public health systems, address population health problems, and control infectious diseases. Greece was one of the countries that received this aid, and in 1928 cooperation with the LNHO was initiated. The aim of this alliance was an integrated health reform plan entitled "Collaboration with the Greek government for the sanitary reorganization of Greece" and had a dual purpose: a) the reorganisation of the health services and b) the establishment of a unified public health system that provided comprehensive healthcare for all citizens. The current article discusses the collaboration between Greece and the LNHO and their endeavour to reorganise the health system during the Interwar period. More specifically, it investigates the significant legislative and policy initiatives and their impact on the health system's evolution. In addition, it aims to explore the factors that affected the outcome of LNHO's reform plan. It is also argued that the proposed health reform plan was not fully implemented due to intense political and social conflicts that resulted from the institutional measures taken to address public health problems as well as financial and technical constraints.

Book review

Despite different lifestyles, humankind has suffered from osteoporosis for thousands of years. A literature review concerning the history of osteoporosis in the following databases: Index Medicus, Medline, PubMed, and PMC Citations was done. In the final analysis, 18 review articles and 31 original papers were included. The works were published during the period 1705-2020. Although there is evidence of the existence of osteoporosis for many centuries, it was first described as a disease at the beginning of the 18th century. It was first perceived as an unavoidable course of aging with no possibility to cure. This approach changed only in the 20th century thanks to sudden diagnostic and therapeutic progress. This paper presents the milestones and most important researchers in osteoporosis history. Rapid progress in diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities sheds new light on osteoporosis’ nature. A comprehensive outlook on its history may help find answers for the still unsolved problems of this disease.

During an excavation campaign in the Church of the Conversion of Saint Paul in Roccapelago (North Italy), a hidden crypt was discovered, which yielded the remains of more than 400 individuals. The crypt was used as a cemetery by the inhabitants of the village of Roccapelago between the 16th and 18th centuries. Along the north side of the crypt, an area apparently separated from the rest of the burials was found, bordered by stones, where several burials of newborns and infants were concentrated. From here, five fabric rolls containing bones were recovered, and it was decided not to carry out destructive analyses, allocating the two best examples to a thorough radiological investigation to try to define the type of burial and the complete biological profile of the infant. The two rolls, subjects of this study, can be dated archaeologically between the 17th and 18th centuries. CT analysis shows a varied group of bones with a fairly good state of conservation. The paleoradiological study carried out had the primary objective of avoiding the destruction of the two rolls, ensuring their conservation; but at the same time, providing essential data to understand their nature, defining the biological profile and the type of deposition.

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.

A complex epidemiological situation marked the health system at the time of the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. Reducing the number of infectious diseases was an essential task of the State Administration of Health. It required new legislation and various steps directed at reducing infectious diseases. Serious infectious diseases, such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid, dysentery, smallpox, and malaria, were among the most significant health problems in Czechoslovakia. In 1920, Act No. 412 Coll. regarding compulsory smallpox vaccination was issued, as well as government Regulation No. 298, which describes vaccination obligations and stipulated proper isolation of patients with infectious diseases. Other steps that led to improvements included establishing the National Institute of Health and mobile disinfectant units. Conclusion: The systematic development of new legislation contributed to the new Republic's proficiency at the task and the gradual reduction in the number of infectious diseases.

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.

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.

Folk medicine is a traditional medical practice in the general population, especially in rural areas. Traditional medicine methods used herbal remedies as well as human and animal substances and minerals. The most commonly used drugs in the treatment of eye diseases were drugs of plant origin like chamomile, eyebright and greater celandine, then drugs of human and animal origin like breast milk, saliva, honey, animal bile, and copper sulfate from mineral origin. There is little information in the literature discussing the folk treatment of ocular diseases. The aim of this paper is to show how ocular diseases were treated in folk medicine in Dalmatia during the 19th century. Efforts were also made to explain the reasons for such empirical treatment that was passed from generation to generation. At the end of the 19th, and especially at the beginning of the 20th century, modern and scientific ophthalmology developed in Dalmatia, but also throughout Croatia, first in large cities. So gradually, folk medicine in the treatment of eye diseases became more and more forgotten.