Historical monographs

Prof. Dr Aleksandar P. Simić, Full Professor, Head of the Department of surgery with anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, clinic for digestive surgery – first surgical, University Clinical Center of Serbia.

Aleksandar M. Mandić, Center for publishing, library and informatics of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade.

Publisher: Faculty of Medicine, December 2023 (Belgrade: Birograf)
217 PP. : ilustr. ; 24 cm. Circulation 300.

Monograph on the occasion of 100. year since the establishment of the Department of surgery of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade.

"The past is the staircase we climbed today to see better tomorrow," said Ambroise Paré, one of the fathers of surgery. As a rare social science, craft or art, surgery is in constant motion, and is the exclusive result of the great enthusiasm and enormous scientific effort of the Pleiades of greats. The understanding of surgery in the context of the cultural, scientific and institutional present rests on a lofty and magnificent past, and this approach is sine qua non to its professional advancement. The great philosopher and reformer Confucius used to say, "study the past if you want to determine the future," and an adequate view of history is the foundation for the understanding of modern surgery. The surgery of every nation today has a vast and magnificent heritage that is in danger of being forgotten, and if surgeons want to be viewed in the way they originally deserve, this profession requires a far better understanding of their previous experiences. For this reason, the need for such a monograph was created, which had the desire to show the size and importance of the surgical clinic in Belgrade, as well as the Pleiades of immortal greats who created it. The additional raison d'être of this monograph is proudly inspired by the great and nationally important Jubilee, one hundred years of the Department of surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade.

The main goal of this monograph was a great desire to break out of oblivion and re-illuminate the historiography of the emergence and development of the surgical clinic and the Department of surgery, viewing them as inseparable and synchronized entities. After the end of the Great War, surgeons with vast professional experience gathered around the surgical clinic will lay the foundations of organized development of surgical scientific thought and practice in our country. The circumstances that led to the emergence and development of the surgical clinic and consequently the Department of surgery are given chronologically, and significant moments of our society of that time are shown through short stories about their interconnectedness. It was also pointed out that some of these, sometimes anecdotal events, significantly influenced not only Serbian surgery, but its overall history. Special emphasis is given to the personalities of the surgeons themselves, primarily in the light of their fascinating professional successes, but also through their general interests. The primary importance of two monolithic professors and Surgeons, Vojislav Subbotić and Milivoje Kostić, is emphasized. As the founder of the Faculty of Medicine, the father of modern Serbian surgery and a personality who left an indelible mark in the scientific and social life of Serbia at the time. The second, as the founder of numerous new surgical procedures and a great man who was the leading figure of Serbian surgery for over three turbulent decades.

The process of collecting historical material and documentation for this monograph was ote - Jean with a limited number of reliable sources, as well as an insufficient amount of previous works, except for honorable exceptions, that dealt with this topic. Having these facts in mind, the question of why the historiography of surgery and surgical greats in our country, especially before the Second World War, was insufficiently and rarely written. The reasons are of course numerous, from social to intellectual to political, but they are certainly very far from any rational justification. Without fully valid facts, some of the important figures of Serbian surgery in this chronicle may have been omitted, or some of the presented data, despite the best wishes of the author, may be debatable, i.e. placed in the wrong time frame, and possibly incorrect, for which we apologize to the readers in advance. What is Fact, to our knowledge, is that this monograph will for the first time feature a number of original photographs of surgeons and moments related to the development of Serbian surgery, as well as photographs and plans of buildings in which the surgical clinic and the Department of surgery have developed since its establishment. For the first time, some important moments in the development of Serbian surgery will also be accurately dated. Most of the photographs, thanks to modern technology, are colored not only for aesthetic reasons, but also in order to approximate all the beauty and reality of the given time.

During the creation of this monograph, great help was obtained by using digitized archives of newspapers Politika, Vreme, Pravda, Zastava and illustrated newspapers, as well as searchable digital libraries, which, in the period processed, were the main source of adequate information. Monographs and memorials published between the two world wars were also of importance. A large amount of data was obtained using books and monographs that have been published in the last three decades, and which have dealt with the topic and biographies of Serbian surgeons and teachers of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, for which we owe the authors of these works, mostly doyen of Serbian surgery, immense gratitude. We would also like to thank the archives of the Institute of histology and Embryology "Prof. Dr. Alexander. Kostić " of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade, which gave us a large number of rarely seen and significant photographs so far. We owe a special and great gratitude to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Beo - grad, which recognized the importance of such a work and made this monograph come to life.

The essence of writing this book was, above all, to express great gratitude and infinite respect to all the greats who built Serbian surgery from the ground up, as well as to those who, through their immense efforts, put the burden of tradition and designed surgery in our country as we know it today. The tradition of Serbian surgery is magnificent, and it is necessary to maintain and nurture it, among other things through a clear and above all accurate historical and scientific narrative. The study of the rich surgical historiography of our people is also of great importance in order to shed light on the facts that are for us and the generations of surgeons that come much needed Foundation and essential reflection of scientific, but above all professional intellectual thought. This monograph is certainly not a scientific work, but rather a novel Chronicle, and it should be seen as the basis or motive for a serious research scientific work, supported by a much more detailed and precise historical material, provided that it is not irrevocably lost. We sincerely hope that among these pages, future readers will find inspiration for a detailed study of the fascinating history of the surgical clinic and the Department of surgery of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, as the essential basis of Serbian surgery.

The description of the publication will be available soon.

The official monograph, or collection on the occasion of one hundred years of existence, was published in 2022. years in the edition of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade.

* Title: One Hundred Years Of The Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
* Type of material: collection / monographic edition
* Publisher: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
* Year of release: 2022.
* ISBN: 978-86-7117-678-1
* COBISS. SR-ID: 78676489

The description of the publication will be available soon.

Vladan Đorđević: life, work time
Editor Radoje Čolović

Vladan Đorđević is one of the most prominent figures of Serbia of the second half of the 19th century. the beginning of 20. the Serbian people were in one of the most difficult times in their history.

In the second half of 19. the life expectancy in the principality and then the Kingdom of Serbia was short and the mortality of children, especially in the first year, was enormous. Infectious and venereal diseases, tuberculosis, and parasitic diseases were very prevalent. Because of the small number of Physicians and, in that era of great helplessness of medicine in general, the health service was little hope for the afflicted. Therefore, it is no wonder that the people most often sought salvation first with the people's doctors and medicine men. There was also a constant danger of the introduction of plague, cholera and smallpox from Turkey, of which quarantines were the only protection. In such circumstances, too, an intelligence emerged, consisting of young people, who, after their education at the grammar schools and at the Lyceum, i.e. the great school, by means of an impartial election, were sent as public tutors to European universities, from which they returned to their homeland, where they dreamed of the restoration of independence and prosperity.

In such circumstances, Dr. Vladan Djordjevic appeared in Serbia, a man of great personal abilities and almost incredible work energy, eager to, in his best convictions, sacrifice himself to the limit, in the way he thought best, for the progress of the country and the people. In those difficult and often restless and troubled times he was a true giant in our history, whose merits and contributions will hardly ever be fully understood and confirmed. Vladan Đorđević was one of only a few Serbs of Serbian origin who came before 1870. graduated in medical studies, the first trained surgeon in Serbia and the first Serbian doctor, author of several scientific papers in surgery, whose value is evidenced by its publication in the leading Surgical Journal of the time and numerous citations in the literature. With success, he was the first to perform about two hundred operations in Serbia, wrote and translated several works in medicine, especially surgery, carried out the reform of Serbian Military Medical Care, wrote the first textbooks in military medicine, and in the vassal Principality of the Ottoman Empire established the second in Europe chair of military hygiene. At the head of the sanitary Department of the Ministry of internal affairs, he created modern sanitary legislation and, through popular health, started the promotion of hygiene as a new medical science that promised the possibility of disease prevention. He founded the Serbian Medical Society, one of the oldest medical societies in Europe, initiated and edited its journal Serbian archive for entire medicine, founded the Serbian Red Cross Society, one of the first fifteen societies in Europe and the gymnastics and Wrestling Society, from which grew, the Sokol movement and "Dušan Silni".
Vladan Đorđević was also a writer who wrote stories, historical novels, travelogues and translated from Greek and French from his school days and throughout his life. He founded and financed, and for about 25 years edited the magazine Otadžbina, one of the best magazines in Serbia at that time. He was also a great social worker, chairman of the board of the Belgrade municipality, minister in the government, diplomat in Greece and Turkey, even in Austria, and in difficult times of economic and social crisis and passionate party struggles, in which party and personal interests were often more important than state and national, he was at the head of the King's government, trying to solve problems in the way he considered best for the people and the state.

Vladan Đorđević was a great patriot, which he proved by fighting in the Serbo-Turkish wars and in the Serbo-Bulgarian war. Driven solely by the interests of the people and the state,
he objectively wrote the history of the Serbo-Bulgarian war, although he knew that he would draw upon himself the wrath of the most powerful people of Serbia. Old and sick, in the Balkan wars and in the First World War he fought for Serbia with diplomacy, pen and defiance.

This book is our attempt to shed light, to a predefined extent, on Vladan Đorđević's contributions to Serbia, for which he fought in ways that he felt were best and most useful for it. The book is an expression of the most sincere and best intentions of the author and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and arts to point out, as far as it was in our powers, the multiple contributions of Dr. Vladan Đorđević to Serbia in the difficult time in which he lived and worked.

Academician Radoje Čolović

The description of the publication will be available soon.

The description of the publication will be available soon.

HISTORY OF CARDIAC SURGERY IN SERBIA

Author: Dušan Velimirović

Publisher: 'Oxford Book Media Solutions' Belgrade.

Belgrade, 2017.

The book history of cardiac surgery in Serbia is dedicated to multiple Jubilees: 70 years (1946) of cardiac surgery in Serbia, 15 years (2001) since the formation of the Association of Cardiovascular Surgeons of Serbia and 10 years (2007) since the establishment of the postgraduate Department of cardiac surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade.

The motives of the group of authors were to present to our professional and general public the professional and scientific achievements of Serbian cardiac surgery and its historical and chronological development during seventy years of existence, from the earliest, pioneering days, immediately after the end of World War II, until 2016. year. The book also presents previously unpublished data related to certain periods of historical development of cardiac surgery in Serbia, which should contribute to academic education and training of our doctors, primarily cardiac surgeons and cardiologists.

Eight of our prominent experts in the field of cardiac surgery and cardioanesthesia participated in the writing of the book, most of whom are teachers of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and executives in their institutions.

The book is the first comprehensive publication in Serbia on this topic.

The description of the publication will be available soon.

Author: Academician Radoje Čolović
Publisher: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade 2010

Six biographies were processed - Dr. Aćim Medović, Dr. Vladan Đorđević, Dr. Mihailo Petrović, Dr. Eduard Mihel, Dr. Toma Leko and Dr. Nikola Miljanić – a period of almost a century. It is shown how the research work must be approached. Relying only on what has been published in professional medical journals is insufficient. It is necessary to archive and dust, to search for documents, daily newspapers, (pra)old magazines that at least in their titles do not promise much, both domestic and foreign. Assembling debris. The following, despite the abundance of documents, "squeezing dry drenovina"; what the author of this book does with success. ...`
___ Brana Dimitrijević

The history of surgery
Authors: Petar V. Simić, Aleksandar P. SImić
Publisher: Official Gazette, 2008
Page: 395 (cb

The history of surgery is the fascinating story of the evolution of one of the noblest and oldest professions in the world. This work, written in a very professional way, follows the historical, but above all the philosophical development of surgery from the very beginning of human civilization to the present day, and is the result of great enthusiasm and enormous scientific effort of Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Simic and his son doc. Dr. Alexander Simic (the book has been written for about eight years).

In reality, it is impossible to separate modern surgery from the centuries-old experiences that preceded it. The path taken by surgery since its beginnings about 5,000 years ago is perhaps the greatest scientific advance in the history of the comprehensive civilization of mankind. Understanding what is currently being realized in surgery in the context of the cultural, economic, political and institutional past and present is certainly the sine qua non of proper and persistent professional progress. The history of surgery presents all these indisputable facts in the fullest and best possible way

The history of surgery is the fascinating story of the evolution of one of the noblest and oldest professions in the world. This work, written in a very professional way, follows the historical, but above all the philosophical development of surgery from the very beginning of human civilization to the present day, and is the result of great enthusiasm and enormous scientific effort of Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Simic and his son doc. Dr. Alexander Simic (the book has been written for about eight years). The added weight is the fact that the basis for such a book lies in many years of enormous work, invaluable knowledge and respectable life experience of a great doctor and teacher, as well as the unselfish and sincere help of his son.

The history of Surgery, published in the Official Gazette, contains about a hundred rarely seen and high-quality images and photographs. It is written in a clear and precise style and in the best way allows an extremely interesting overview and philosophical approach to the history of not only surgery for the whole of humanity and its successive development. The work portrays all the great minds who, thanks to their scientific and intellectual efforts over many centuries, made possible the creation of medicine and surgery as we know it today. The illustrations present not only portraits of the most important surgeons in history, but also the most important surgical publications, as well as drawings and photographs of hospitals and instruments through the centuries. The amount of literature used during the writing of this book is also impressive, as well as the way it is classified, with the fact that the rare works of domestic authors who have dealt with this issue are cited. Through eleven systematically and comprehensively arranged chapters, the most interesting and important moments in the maturation of surgery are illustrated. At the very beginning, it is noted that in addition to medical-surgical historiography through the centuries, the authors explain in great detail the entire history of civilization, pointing to the interrelationship of the development of humanity and medicine, i.e. surgery as a consequential fact. With this approach, which goes beyond the framework of classical historiography, the authors have fully managed not only to emphasize the importance that the development of surgery had for the entire humanity, but also to move this work from the domain of narrowly professional bibliography into the philosophical-encyclopedic one.

The book begins with surgery of prehistoric times and primitive techniques, and then describes the surgical capabilities and knowledge of Mesopotamian, ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Chinese, and Indian civilizations. More sophisticated medical and surgical techniques and knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans were then presented, and the great importance that surgery of Byzantium and the early Arab world had on its overall development was particularly emphasized. It describes in detail the transition period of world civilization, and therefore the development of surgery, starting from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, Baroque and enlightened absolutism. Although very unsavory to surgeons, especially and very detailed is the problem of the history of anesthesia as well as sepsis and asepsis. The largest, but also the most important and interesting chapter is dedicated to the surgery of the XIX and the first half of the XX century, i.e. the founders and founders of modern surgery. The last chapter is reserved for a comprehensive detailed and intellectual review of the history of surgery of the Serbian people from the beginning to the middle of the twentieth century.

This work is written according to all the requirements of professional and scientific publishing and is extremely suitable for any doctor who is looking for a concise, informative and easily readable overview of the development of surgery. First written in our country, such a study will be of great value as a comprehensive textbook not only for surgeons greater for all generations of students and doctors. Having in mind the style and ease of writing as well as the use of numerous quotes from famous surgeons with the addition of personal preferences and views of the problem, this work, despite its great scientific weight, will be very readable and accessible not only to a professional medical larger readership.

It is with great personal and professional pleasure that I can freely state that the history of surgery represents a long-awaited and above all necessary capital work of Serbian surgical historiography. On the other hand, such a study indirectly illuminates the surgical clinical practice of our times. Surgery has a highly prized legacy that is in danger of being forgotten, and if surgeons in the future want to be viewed in the way they really deserve, this profession requires a better understanding of the value of previous experience. Although the future of the arts, crafts and Sciences called surgery remains unknown, it certainly rests on a glorious past, which this work reflects in the best possible way.

Prof. Branko Radulović

The description of the publication will be available soon.

The description of the publication will be available soon.

Chronicle of surgery in Serbia

Academician Radoje Čolović

2002, Prosveta

The editor-in-chief of the book is Radoje Čolović, a full professor of surgery at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. The Chronicle of surgery in Serbia is a work in the history of medicine, and its importance lies not only in the field of profession, but also in the field of general culture and education. It was written in cooperation with several authors, and it is dedicated to the surgeons of Serbia who, in very unfavorable social, material and war conditions, not only dedicated and professionally did their job, but also tried to keep up with the modern development of World surgery. The book begins with three chapters covering the history of anatomy, the history of surgery from inception to the 20th century. century, and the history of Serbian surgery until the beginning of the First World War. In an encyclopedic way, data on the emergence and development of anatomy and then surgery during certain historical periods in the leading countries of civilization are presented. The development of Serbian surgery is presented with a detailed account of Serbian medieval medical tradition, a description of `folk medicine` and surgery during the Turkish occupation and the struggle for liberation during the two uprisings. Here, along with the specific epic-narrative style of the author and a distinct ability to spot key facts, the beginnings of the introduction of modern medicine and surgery in liberated Serbia are described.

In a special chapter, 73 biographies of our former and current prominent surgeons from Dr. Vladan Đorđević to date are given. These biographies, for which a lot of effort has been collected and published and which have thus been preserved from oblivion, depict the life and work, the efforts and struggle of Surgeons for the good of the country, the development of the profession and social recognition.

The Chronicle of surgery in Serbia is an important work in the field of the history of medicine that significantly preserves and systematizes facts, thus enabling work on further research. From the point of view of the history of medicine and from the references cited, the work will remain relevant for a long time. This work appears for the first time in our language and bears a special stamp of originality, so it can be compared with the best foreign works from the history of medicine. The work is a source of data for scientific work to all who deal with the history of surgery and medicine in general.

This book is a capital work necessary for the study of the history of Serbian and surgery in general, so it deserves attention from both the professional and historical aspects. Prof. Dr Radoje Čolović accepted the difficult task of unifying and preserving in one book all the necessary facts necessary for insight into the emergence and development of surgery in our country. It can be said that, with the help of his thoroughness, systematicness and his associates, he fully fulfilled this task.

Radoje B. Colovic
Prosveta: 2000.year
Hardcover, 327 pages.
The book discusses the history of Serbian surgery.