History of Medicine in Jagodina District
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184 Serbian Dental Journal, vol. 62, No 4, 2015 INFORMATIVE ARTICLE DOI: 10.1515/sdj-2015-0019 INFORMATIVNI RAD UDC: 61(091)(497.11)"11/19" History of Medicine in Jagodina District Marko Jeremić1, Ana Vuković2, Ninoslav Stanojlović3, Rade Vuković4, Dejan Marković2 1Department of Dentistry, Health Care Center, Jagodina, Serbia; 2University of Belgrade, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Belgrade, Serbia; 3Primary School “October 17th”, Jagodina, Serbia; 4Institute for Mother and Child Health Care of Serbia “Dr Vukan Čupić”, Belgrade, Serbia SUMMARY The first record of scientific medicine in Serbia has been found in the early of 12th century. For centuries lifestyle, nutri- tion, natural environment, armies passing through, cultural heritage, and prejudice have affected healthcare in Serbia. Until 1820, Serbia has not had any educated doctor. Fourteen district physicians from 1839 and Dr. Karlo Beloni, to the last one, Dr. Selimir Djordjević – have spent part of their professional careers in Jagodina. All of them have had influence on raising health culture of Jagodina and its population and helped to overcome easily and quickly all existing diseases and epidemics. The Jagodina Hospital has been working without interruption for 147 years and represents one of the oldest healthcare institutions in Serbia. Keywords: health care centre; community medical service; history of medicine; development True men of science revere the past. DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE DURING Everything we do and everything we are MEDIEVAL PERIOD is the result of a hundred year’s labor. The first record of the existence of scientific medicine in Ernest Renan (1823–1892) Serbia comes from the early of 12th century, representing the medicine of Hippocrates, Galen, Aristide and other ancient physicians, just like European medicine. It was INTRODUCTION on the rise between the 12th and 15th century. Purveyors of medical knowledge from Byzantium to Serbia were Since creation of mankind, the history of medicine has mostly monks in Serbian or Byzantine colonies in Athos, been studying the origin and development of diseases Sinai and Jerusalem, while western medicine was passed and their treatment. The history and origin of medicine on by doctors and pharmacists trained in western medi- is an outcome of human instincts to protect and defend its cal schools. The founders of first hospitals were Stefan species. Along with scientific medicine, animistic or magi- Nemanja and St. Sava in Hilandar Monastery in 1191. cal medicine has developed with spiritual character that St. Sava in Studenica founded the first hospital in Serbia was built on the belief that cure exists in nature, spirits, in 1208. He later founded a few more (Ravanica, Visoki plants, animals and objects. Religious medicine interpret- Dečani), all of which operated until the downfall of Ser- ed diseases as the consequence of evil spirits who were bian medieval states [2]. However, scientific medicine of undermining the existing balance in the body. Apocryphal the medieval Serbia was cut in its further development, it medicine, found in indigenous peoples of Balkan by the was stagnating more and more, and at the end of the 17th Slavs, was a mixture of various oriental and ancient cults, century it was reduced to traditional medicine and, to a as well as philosophical systems of the Ancient history. certain extent, to the religious one. Church has not recognized it for its nature and belief in Healthcare situation of Serbian people was affected by negative effects of the evil forces of nature. The treatments various factors, such as lifestyle, nutrition, natural envi- consisted of prayers and divinations [1]. ronment, armies passing through, cultural heritage, and The present study is a descriptive research of devel- prejudice. The treatments were primitive; hence, people opment of medicine in Serbia and Jagodina district. We in larger towns would turn for a cure to traditional doc- observed development of medicine from the medieval tors: berbers – the Turks: they let blood out by horns and period until nowadays. Methods used were: documenta- leeches, pooled teeth out and performed minor surgeries; tion analysis and desk research of secondary information. hakims – the Greeks, originally from Epirus, residing in Furthermore, historical data were gathered through in- certain cities, also called kaloyatri (“good doctors”), who terviews and analyzed. had family inheritance of medical knowledge; self-taught Address for correspondence: Marko JEREMIĆ, Department of Dentistry, Health Care Center Jagodina, Karadjordjeva bb Street, 35000 Jagodina, Serbia; [email protected] Stomatološki glasnik Srbije. 2015;62(4):184-195 185 doctors – ethnic Greeks, Serbs or Turks; and folk healers DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE IN (men and women) – Greeks, Jews and Roma, passing on LIBERATED SERBIA their skills from generation to generation [3]. Outside major towns, in villages, people were treated Until 1820, there were no educated doctors in Serbia. in monasteries by the monks who knew the secret of me- The first graduated doctor was Constantin Alexandridi, dicinal herbs treatment from medical books, the content the second was Dr. Vito Romita, whose compatriot, Dr. of which they occasionally revised and extended, while Bartolomeo Silvestar Kunibert, accepted Dr. Romita’s in- the priests treated patients with prayer, i.e. by reading and vitation to come to Serbia in 1826 as the third educated drawing a cross onto the affected area. Traditional physi- doctor, where he worked as Prince’s personal doctor until cians, found in almost every village, would treat people 1839 [6]. using plants, ointments, medicinal herbs and chanting. The first Serbian doctor in Prince’s Serbia was Dr. Jovan These were mostly older women who had stopped giving Stejić. He was born in Arad in 1803 and obtained his PhD birth and who were trained in preparing these cures. They in Vienna in 1829 with the help of Jevrem Obrenović. He would pass on their knowledge to younger female family moved to Serbia to work with Jevrem, but not long after members (until the age of 12). Prince Miloš engaged him as his personal doctor and a Quackery did not exist in its usual sense, since there mentor to his sons, Milan and Mihailo. Due to disagree- were no educated doctors. In stores in larger towns people ments with Prince Miloš, Dr. Stejić moved to Zemun, were able to buy all known drugs, some of which were which was outside Serbian borders at that time. When toxic and sold without control. Measures to suppress the prince left Serbia in 1840, Dr. Stejić returned to Bel- quackery were carried out in the 1830s, but, for a very grade and together with Dr. Karlo Pacek formed the Ser- long time, people were not able to get rid of superstition bian Civil Ambulance. In 1845, he was appointed as the and ingrained convictions. State Soviet Secretary of the highest administrative and political body, where he remained until his death in 1853 [7]. Apart from them, there were other doctors working DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE DURING in Serbia as foreigners until 1839: THE UPRISINGS • Dr. Nestor Mesarović from Irig, who was Prince’s phy- sician in Kragujevac During the centuries of Turkish reign, Serbia was under- • Dr. Karlo Pacek from Budapest, a great friend and developed in every cultural aspect. It had no doctors, not advisor to the Obrenović dynasty who had a very im- only during the Uprisings, but years and years later as portant role in the formation of healthcare service well. The lack of enlightenment among people, Turkish in Serbia lootings and men losses in the Uprisings did not provide • Dr. Djordje Pantelić, the Prince’s family doctor in cultural and material conditions for foreign doctors to Požarevac, and later the Guard’s military doctor come and work in the country. The first doctors, who were • Dr. Maksim Nikolić-Miškovičev from Sremski Karlo- visiting Serbia rarely and autonomously, would come as vci, a military doctor personal doctors of the Belgrade’s Pasha and, later on, in • Dr. Emmerich Lindenmaier from Banat, the first the service of the Prince and his court. Subsequently, those Military Medical Department Chief and Chief of the doctors entered the military service as military doctors in military and civil healthcare services the army that had just began to form [1]. • Dr. Josip Rabrić from Sremski Karlovci, a quarantine With the beginning of struggle for national liberation, physician in Aleksinac and Kragujevac Serbia started paying more attention to organizing its • Dr. Herman Mainert from the Czech Republic, who healthcare system. During the First and Second Serbian arrived in Serbia in 1836 [1]. Uprisings, the wounded soldiers were treated in monas- teries or at their homes. Karadjordje’s government built two hospitals in Serbia – one in Belgrade and the other DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE IN JAGODINA one in Šabac by the end of their ruling. The doctors were AFTER THE LIBERATION FROM TURKS mostly foreign physicians and few physicians from Vo- jvodina who joined military and civil service. This was a The first hastily trained doctor came to Jagodina after period when Serbia – as a country where young intellec- the Second Serbian Uprising. According to the letter of tuals were coming after their studies abroad - was trying Janićije Radović, a head of Jagodina’s mezulhana (a kind to change its conservative and patriarchal way of life [4]. of post office and tavern for couriers, where they would In the early decades of the 19th century, Serbia was switch horses and continue their way to Istanbul or Pest) still an incompletely formed part of the Ottoman Empire, addressed to Prince Miloš in 1824, there was a certain without trained local personnel, poor and underdeveloped fellow named Guido, an Italian, who travelled through the in all aspects. Centuries of Turkish govern in Serbia pre- Balkan region on his way to Istanbul, and he was accom- vented any cultural and medical development [5].