Origins of informed consent in medicine in English-speaking countries. From narcosis to consciousness and from contract to rights

The text presents the origins of informed consent in medical practice and research, with a special focus on English-speaking countries. The introduction of anesthesia into medical practice resulted in the emergence of a new group of injured patients who operated in the unconscious state, have no control over medical intervention, and complain that they were subjected to procedures to which they did not agree. The second impulse is experimenting involving humans in the 18th and 19th centuries, some cases gain considerable publicity (e.g. infection with pathogens) and led to high-profi le trials in which the argument of patients’ consent to participate in a non-therapeutic experiment appeared. In the case of therapeutic experiments, the principle of the patient’s benefi t prevails over his autonomy. The third factor is a gradual transition from the individual approach of the doctor to the patient, based on virtue ethics, to understanding the relationship between the doctor and the patient in terms of a contract. Then, the transition from the contract to general rights and the formulation of general patient rights.

The concept of “pathocoenosis” and the scientific structures of the narrative about the Covid-19 pandemic. Experiences and perspectives

The author considers to what extent “pathcenosis”, the concept of the Croatian- French historian of medicine Mirko Grmek (1924–2000), can provide a theoretical framework for contemporary and historical research on pandemics. This term denoted the set of diseases occurring in a given population at a given time and the relationships between them. The current COVID-19 pandemic is the impetus for contemporary research. Research on the scientifi c discourse in the reports of the COVID-19 Advisory Team at the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences allowed for the diagnosis of the theoretical usefulness of pathocoenosis. The area of these analyzes includes historical and medical interpretations, scientifi c myth and social myths about science, scientifi c consensus and the dissemination of science. These studies showed two dangerous tendencies: 1. discrepancies in the understanding of the strategy of fi ghting the pandemic between the multidisciplinary world of science and the state authorities; 2. slight social impact of scientifi c authorities on negationist social attitudes. Both trends have a real impact on the shaping of the pandemic situation. Prospects for the continuation of this research concern, among others searching for the possibility of modifying the concept of „pathocenosis” with the epidemiological consequences of globalization processes, the use of „pathocenosis” as a narrative structure in the historiography of medical sciences, the use of the concept of „pathocenosis” as an inspiration for theoretical approaches in studies on the history of social practices towards health and disease. The prospects for continuing the research carried out also take into account the presence of the socio-cultural context and the dynamics of changes in the pandemic in the scientific discourse. And also the great importance of the narrative of anti-science movements in Poland. All these factors infl uence the nature of the Polish pathocoenosis.

Euskol incense briquettes – between the miasmatic and bacteriological concepts?

Euskol incense briquettes were produced in Lubostroń. Their factory was founded in 1909 by Witold Skórzewski. It was still operating under the German occupation, in the 1940s. Euskol was used mainly for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes in veterinary and medicine. Enjoyed great and unfl agging popularity, and was exported to Western Europe. The manufacturer explained the characteristics of Euskol using bacteriological arguments. However he situated diseases in one semantic fi eld with rot. The medical context of the use of Euskol (and other incense) in the post-Pasteur period indicates a strong attachment to the miasmatic narrative.

Medical activities in doctors’ notes from the period of the January Uprising

The work shows one of the less known issues related to the January Uprising, regarding helping insurgents injured in the fighting. These activities were much more difficult, which prompted Polikarp Girsztowt and other members of the Medical Commission to establish the institution of “wandering surgery”. It also presents profi les of doctors and documentation of their work, which in various forms was transmitted even to foreign periodicals - here Austrian ones, which allowed wider circles of European society to become familiar with the problems they encountered.

Elements of Ayurveda in nineteenthcentury Polish medicine: the case of cholera hospitals in Warsaw and Poznań in 1831 and 1866

The article contributed to the history of translational medicine and presents the transfer of elements of the Ayurvedic treatment of cholera to the medical practice in Poland in the 19th century, carried out through Western European doctors. Special attention is paid to the role played in this process by foreign physicians and surgeons working in Warsaw hospitals during the November Uprising. Their education, medical experience and competence as regards cholera treatment were described, as well as the scientific research they carried out in Warsaw and their preferences for cholera treatment. It was demonstrated that the Hindu treatment regimen was accepted by colonial doctors and after some modifications disseminated in Europe. To assess the persistence of the treatment in Poland, the medications used in 1831 in Warsaw hospitals were compared with those administered to patients in the Poznan lazarette in 1866. The article is based on foreign doctors reports on the fight against cholera in 1831 in the Kingdom of Poland, as well as a unique report on the treatment of cholera at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Poznan in 1866.

„Mortui vivos docent” – anatomical studies in Ancient Greek medicine

Systematic dissection of human corpses only began to be practised in modern times. In the ancient world, the dead body was burdened with impurity and had to be buried with dignity so that the relatives of the deceased would not be affected by the taint. For this reason, anatomical studies were mainly based on observation of the wounded on the battlefield or on autopsies of animal bodies. On this basis, conclusions were drawn about human anatomy and bodily functions. The exception was Alexandria during the Hellenistic period, which became the dominant scientific centre, especially during the reign of the first three Ptolemies. It was there that Herophilos and Erasistratos, physicians who, would dissect human cadavers, were active. Their writings have survived only in small fragments, but from later sources we learn of their significant achievements in anatomical research. Particularly relevant here is the testimony of the Latin encyclopaedist Celsus, who, while understanding the necessity of dissecting examinations, disapproved of the vivisections allegedly performed by Alexandrian scholars. In the Roman period, dissection of human cadavers was no longer practised, not only because of the impurity of the human body, but also because the new trend in medicine, empiricism, abandoned the search for the causes of disease, focusing mainly on the treatment of visible symptoms.

75 years of Polish medicine and pharmacy in Wrocław (1945–2020). Selected elements from the history of higher education in Wrocław. Part tree

Professional training in medicine and pharmacy had begun in Wrocław by the fall of 1945. The Faculty of Medicine was created within the structure of Wrocław University and Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Two departments were established within it: the Pharmaceutical and Dentistry departments. In 1950, a specialized medical school was developed from the University, functioning briefl y under the name of the Medical Academy (which was changed to the Academy of Medicine), already with an independent Faculty of Pharmacy. In 1979, the Medical Analytics Department was established within the Faculty of Pharmacy (which ceased its activities in 2020). In 1978, the Faculty of Nursing was created which was transformed into the Faculty of Public Health in 2001 and into the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2008. Starting in 1989, the school was called the Academy of Medicine in Wrocław (Akademia Medyczna im. Piastów Śląskich). In 1992, the Post-Graduate Faculty of Medicine (existing until the academic year 2019/2020) was distinguished from the Faculty of Medicine. In 2000, the Department of Dentistry was transformed into the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. As a part of the school, liberal arts and social studies connected with medicine were also developed in units located within the structure of various departments of the AM. The Academy of Medicine in Wrocław existed until 2011 when the decision was made to transform it into Wrocław Medical University (Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Piastów Śląskich), functioning until now. The article presents the major stages in the history of medical schools in Wroclaw after 1945, taking into consideration the external factors that had an effect on the changes occurring in them. It also presents their results. It consists of three parts. The fi rst one presents the most important aspects of the history of the Faculty of Medicine of Wrocław University and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology in the years 1945–1949. The second part discusses the history of the Academy of Medicine in the years 1950– 2011, and the third one of Wrocław Medical University in the years 2011–2020. The article contains an extensive bibliography of studies concerning the history of these schools as well as the system of public medicine in Poland in the years 1945–2020, providing the context for their activities.

Primary Sources to the History of Medical and Pharmaceutical Law in Early Modern Elbing/Elbląg (part I): the 17th century Ordinantz, Der Herren Medicorum, Apothecker, Barbierer

Unlike in other large cities of Royal Prussia, i.e., Gdańsk/Danzig and Toruń/Thorn, the intra-city legislation regulating the local market for medical, surgical, apothecary, and midwifery services in Elbląg/Elbing have been largely overlooked by scholars. Additionally, the history of healthcare and pharmacy organization in Elblag remains a little-explored topic in both Polish and foreign historiography. The article aims to analyse the hitherto unknown 17th c. ordinance for physicians, apothecaries, and barbers issued by the Elbląg city council, and provides the trustworthy primary text (scholarly edition) to researchers.

On the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic and war on writing the history of medicine (on the example of Renata Elżbieta Paliga’s refl ections on the plague in the era of Stanislaw August Poniatowski)

Renata Elżbieta Paliga’s book is a negative example of writing in the history of medicine, written under the infl uence of the coronavirus pandemic and the war. It was written in a hurry, on the wave of current epidemiological and military events, without a painstaking search for sources. Its author summarised Tadeusz Srogosz fi ndings, sometimes only indirectly using other bibliographical sources. The interpretations contained in the book are either logically fl awed or outright false.