The history of medicine in Ukraine

The history of medicine in Ukraine begins with the history of folk medicine.

The first medical hospitals in Kyiv Rus were founded in the 11 th century and were mostly in the form of alms = houses attached to churches.

In the 14th and 15th centuries new hospitals were built and many physicians gave the first aid to the inhabitants of Ukraine and the soldiers of Bogdan Khmelnytsky's troops.

As the number of physicians was inadequate some medical schools which trailed specialists were opened. Kyiv Academy was founded in 1632. It played a prominent role in the development of the Ukrainian medicine. Many graduates of the Academy continued to enrich their knowledge abroad and received their doctors' degrees there. Many former students of this Academy have become the well-known scientists. They are the epidemiologist D. S. Samoilovych, the obstetrician N, M. Ambodyk-Maximovych, the podiatrist S. F. Chotovytsky, the anatomist 0. M. Shumlyansky and many .others.

At the end of the I8th and during the 19th centuries the medical departments were formed at the Universities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. The total number of physicians has increased m Ukraine. The medicine of Zemstvo was widely used at that time.

During the Crimean War (1854-1856), upon Pirogov's initiative the first detachment of nurses was trained and sent to Sevastopol to help its defenders. It gave the beginning of the organization "Red Cross".

In 1686 the first bacteriological station was organized in Odesa which was of great importance in the development of microbiology and epidemiology. The famous scientists I. I. Mechnikov and M. F. Gamaliya worked at this station and succeeded much in their investigations. Inspite of favourable conditions for the successful development of natural sciences in Russia many outstanding scientists worked in Ukraine. It is known that the brilliant scientist M. I. Pirogov and his followers, as V. O. Karavayev, O. F. Shimanovsky, M. V. Sklifosovsky and others made valuable contribution in the Ukrainian medicine.

The famous scientists V. P. Obraztsov and M. D. Strazhesko were founders of Kyiv therapeutist’ school. They made a huge progress in the field of cardiology Winch was done in the treatment of many eye diseases by the prominent scientist, academician V. P. Filatov who founded the Institute of Eye diseases in Odesa. Many other outstanding scientists worked in Ukraine whose names are well known m the world.