Year 2014 Vol. 22 No 1

HISTORY SURGERY

S.A. SUSHKOU, Y.S. NEBYLITSIN

SURGERY ON THE BELARUSIAN LANDS DURING THE FEUDAL PERIOD

EE “Vitebsk State Medical University”
The Republic of Belarus

The article deals with the historical review of the surgical aid state în the Belarusian lands during the feudal period (IX-XVIII centuries).
Surgery was considered as an important part of medicine in Kievan Rus incorporated Polotsk and Turov principalities. It was forming on the background of praslavic medicine, an original old Russian culture and under the influence of scientific achievements of neighboring countries. By the ÕI century in the period of the greatest prosperity of the Old Russian State two main types of medicine had coexisted – church-monastic and secular medicine. In the monastic hospitals the surgical aid was given free of charge by monks and for payment - by secular physicians. Secular physicians were considered as craftsmen. Substantially the surgical pathology was treated by general practitioners but simultaneously with it a narrow specialization of physicians has already begin to from manifesting the appearance of physician-surgeons. In the Old Russian state the surgical aid was successfully rendered in case of various diseases and physicians mastered by rational treatment techniques.
During the first two centuries after of the Belarusian lands incorporating into Grand Duchy of Lithuania the Old Russian traditions of medical aid rendering In the XV and XVI centuries medicine began transforming similarly to European countries with a manifestation of clear distinction between physicians and barber-surgeons. Barber guild played a major role in the development of surgery on the Belarusian lands; the population had the opportunity to get a qualified surgical care corresponding to the level of European countries. In the ÕVIII century to conduct objectively the medical reforms initiated in Europe has been failed. Despite on the creation of the first higher medical educational institution, before the collapse of the Rzeczpospolita, the surgeons remained in barbers’ status.
In the feudal period analysis of surgery development on the Belarusian lands has shown that depending on the national affiliation of these territories it was acquiring the original features. However, regardless of the organization form, the specialists rendered the surgical aid based on rational approaches and the applied treatment methods quite corresponded to their time.

Keywords: history of surgery, feudal period, Kievan Rus, Polotsk principality, Turov principality, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rzeczpospolita, Belarus
p. 5 – 17 of the original issue
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Address for correspondence:
210023, Respublika Belarus', g. Vitebsk, pr. Frunze, d. 27, UO «Vitebskii gosudarstvennyi meditsinskii universitet», kafedra obshchei khirurgii,
e-mail: sergery@nm.ru,
Sushkov Sergei Albertovich
Information about the authors:
Sushkou S.A. PhD, an associate professor, Vice-rector for the scientific research work of EE “Vitebsk State Medical University”.
Nebylitsin Y.S. PhD, an associate professor of the general surgery chair of EE “Vitebsk State Medical University”.
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