I dedicate this works to my teacher, professor Feodosiy Romanovich Borodulin.
Author
The History of Medicine is a textbook for undergraduate students of medical institutions as well as medical professionals who should know the history of medicine. The brevity of the book is due to the fact that undergraduate students who take this subject, cannot understand at once the common way of medicine development without knowing the basic problems of medicine, a number of key terms and ideas. Therefore, they lack information of the above problems, terms, schools of thought, treatment methods, preventive measures and rehabilitation which they will be familiarized with but later. Besides, the academic programme and curriculum are meant to be studied during 40 academic hours, consequently, no details can be included into the Procrastean bed of both the programme and textbook.
Unlike other domestic and foreign textbooks that very often are collections of biographies of distinguished scholars and practicing physicians, this book deals with the main paths of medicine development, from its origin to the present day, in strict adherence to the academic programme, including critical developments and discoveries made during the 20th century. Such a concept of the book is quite innovative and is not supported by all professionals. The complexity and grandiosity of this information have also become the reason why the 20th century is usually not included into training courses on history of medicine. The fact is that since the time of a well-known historian Pokrovskiy it has been considered that one cannot address the historical trajectory of medicine before at least 50 years have expired since the understanding of recent events is often changeable and erratic. According to science theorists, the 20th century (particulary, its second half), accumulated than 80% of all knowledge in the field of medicine and allied sciences.