[«Our whole family does not get out of the common cold¼: an ear, throat and nose disease in the conditions of S.P. Botkin]. / «Vse nashe semeistvo ne vykhodit iz nasmorka¼: zabolevaniya ukha, gorla i nosa v okruzhenii S.P. Botkina.

The article presents an epistolary insight into the history of otorhinolaringology in Russia. It shows pathology of ear, nose and throat, which S.P. Botkin faced: cases of diseases of empress Maria Aleksandrovna, grand duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich, poet N.A. Nekrasov, publisher A.A. Kraevsky, Sergey Petrovich himself, his relatives and loved ones. The biographical singularity of the famous doctor's patients is noted. On the materials of family letters of 1855-1889 yrs., service diaries of 1872-1889 yrs. and S.P. Botkin's clinical lectures it is shown how daily cases and casuistry of otorhinolaryngology pathology formed scientific innovative ideas.

"The letters of S. P. Botkin from Bulgaria. 1887": The return of the manuscript in Russia.

The previous report partially brought to light history of publishing of "The letters of S. P. Botkin from Bulgaria 1877". The original letters were abroad for many years and they were returned to the USSR in 1974 by grandchildren of S. P. Botkin, S. P. Chekhov and D. P. Chekhov, who resided in France. The circumstances of handing over of the letters to the N. A. Semashko Institute of Health Organization and Social Hygiene are presented. The letters have not been republished for 130 years, but their historical, moral and educational significance remains actual and nowadays. The modern edition of the complete manuscript, along with introductory article and detailed scientific commentary, will become a significant contribution to representation of biography of S.P Botkin, to supplementation of written sources about the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, and to comprehension of centuries-old Middle Eastern geopolitics of Russia.

Peter the Great and sexually transmitted diseases.

Shortly after syphilis appeared in Europe at the time of Columbus' voyage to the New World, the big pox, as it was often known, became a serious issue in Russia for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Members of the Russian royal family were made aware of the disease from adolescence onward. Czar Peter the Great had many sexual contacts and could have contracted any number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that were quite common in his era. Nevertheless, contributions analyzed from available sources by his contemporary doctors, and later from medical analyses, reveal no evidence that he had contracted syphilis or any other STD. Most likely, he died from acute renal failure due to urinary tract obstruction.

Alexander Frese and the establishment of psychiatry in the Russian Empire.

Previous historiography has already paid particular attention to well-known 'metropolitan' biographies of I. Balinsky, V. Bekhterev and others, as well as their role in the establishment of a scientific approach in the treatment of mental illnesses in the Russian Empire. Little attention has been paid to 'provincial' physicians and the importance of their scientific activity in bridging the gap between the Russian and European institutions of psychiatry. The primary aim of this article is to show how Alexander Frese's 'mobile' and 'imperial' career influenced the emergence of the transnational origins of Russian psychiatry. It describes his travels to foreign psychiatric hospitals, and his subsequent critical assessment of them. I argue that his ideas, which had been formulated during these trips, determined the design of emerging psychiatric institutions (district hospitals) in the Russian Empire.

Oskar Kobylinski (1856-1926) and the first description of Noonan syndrome in the medical literature.

While a student of University in Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia) Oskar Kobylinski published an article reporting on his 22-year-old patient Leisar Eischikmann, who suffered from a congenital deformity of the neck. Kobylinski described this rare anomaly and called it "flüghautige Verbreitung des Halses" (wing-like extension of the neck). It was only in 1902 when the name pterygium colli was introduced, and it has been in use ever since. This malformation is part of some congenital syndromes, most prominently, Turner syndrome and, more rarely, of Noonan syndrome. As Opitz et al. pointed out, the patient described in the 1883 article from Archiv für Anthropologie is probably the first person with Noonan syndrome to have been pictured in the medical literature. The article was signed only by "O. v. Kobylinski, student of medicine." Further archival research was needed to identify this physician and provide more details about his unusual career.

Peter the great and cataract surgery.

Tsar Peter Alekseyevich Romanov (1672-1725), often called Peter the Great, modernized Russia in many areas, including in the field of medicine. Peter I attended medical lectures and demonstrations and may have even performed some medical procedures himself. In Paris, he witnessed a cataract couching performed by Englishman John Thomas Woolhouse (1664-1733/4) and requested that Woolhouse train a Russian student in ophthalmology.

The Russian feldsher: A PA prototype in transition.

The feldsher is a physician assistant (PA) prototype. Developed in Russia during the 19th century to serve as healthcare personnel at a time of physician scarcity, feldshers provided medical services throughout the Russian Empire and later Soviet Union. Their medical role from the mid-19th century until the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 was crucial, particularly in rural and underserved regions. During wartime, many served in the military as medics. During the late 20th century, feldshers' numbers waned compared with physicians and nurses. In the 21st century, they remain a presence in the Russian medical system but their future is in transition as their numbers decline. However, earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian State Duma to create more feldsher-midwife stations in rural areas. This indicates that the Russian government, at the highest levels, see the need for more feldshers to serve, essentially, as PAs in remote areas.

[The R.M. Fronshteyn Urology Clinic 150th Anniversary].

In 2017, the Urology Clinic of the Sechenov University celebrates the 150th anniversary. Since its foundation in 1866, it has been led by outstanding Russian medical experts. Today, the clinic features a highly specialized team of leading medical professionals that honors the traditions of the school that has been formed here for many years.

Wladyslaw Bieganski, MD (1857-1917)

Dr W. Bieganski was an eminent doctor of internal medicine mostly the acute infectious diseases and tuberculosis, he was scientist doing the research on the origin of the diseases and on the medical ethics, but more he was also a social activist taking care on the public health of the society in his time still living under the Russian rule. W. Bieganski living on the XIX/XX century in small provincial town, grace to his knowledge, self education and energy created the important scientific center in the municipal small hospital. His philosophic works and especially knowledge published under the shape of aphorisms on the medical ethics were several time published still after his death. The century of the death of Dr W. Bieganski the Senat of RP, the Higher Chamber of the Polish Parliament, celebrated by nominating him as one of the eminent persons for the year 2017. This publication was prepared to memorize the achievements of a medical doctor, scientists and social Dr W. Bieganski activists, that can be jugged as the precursor of the public health activist, and whose philosophical findings are still worth to be remember.

[The Shmakovka health resort: the history and the current status]. / Kurort Shmakovka: istoriya i sovremennost'.

The authors distinguish three periods in the history of the «Shmakovka¼ health resort, viz. pre-revolutionary (from 1870 to 1917), Soviet (from 1917 to 1991) and modern (since 1992 up to the present time). The history of the discovery and the initial development of the mineral springs is highlighted, the foundation and evolution of the major facilities of the «Shmakovka¼ health resort in the years of socialist construction in the Soviet period is described. Information about the main areas of research carried out based at these facilities at different times is presented. Special attention is given to the various aspects of the sustainable development of the «Shmakovka¼ health resort in the context of the current tendencies toward activation of the import substitution activities with special reference to the organization of tourism in this country, strengthening of the material-technical base of the health centers, improvement of the quality of medical and health services, and further development of scientific research.

Professor Monastyrski N.D. (1847-1888): One of the Forgotten Pioneers of Biliary Surgery.

Today, the ingenious and untimely deceased surgeon Monastyrski's name is almost lost in the history of medicine and means little, if anything, to young surgeons. Monastyrski Nestor Dmitrievich was born in 1847 in Czerniowce and graduated from the medical faculty of the University of Vienna. Deeply inspired by the stars of European medicine and surgery: Billroth, Kaposi, Mikulicz, he became a brilliant surgeon and teacher. Monastyrski performed the first gastroenterostomy in Russia and was one of the pioneers of the aseptic method in Russia. In May 1887 he performed the historical first cholecystojejunostomy in the world. In 1888, exhausted by a tumor of the right kidney, Monastyrski insisted on surgery which resulted in his death several hours later. The department of surgery which was founded by Monastyrski N.D. in the Clinical Institute of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (today - North-Western State Medical Academy named after I.I. Mechnikov) was named after him.

[Organization of medical equipment supply for the Russian Army during the First World War].

Organization of medical equipment supply-for the Russian Army during the First World War. The article shows that when preparing the army for the war and planning of emergency supplies for military time the Russian military department was guided by the experience gained during the Russo-Japanese War, which turned old by that time, and as a result during the First World War the medical service noticed a significant lack of medications,surgical instruments and other medical equipment. There were few bases of medical equipment in the troop district. The undertaken emergency measures allowed improving supply of medical institutions and troops with medical equipment.

[The School of S.P. Botkin: Vassili Nikolaievich Sirotinin (1855-1934)].

The article considers a number of characteristics of the scientific clinical school of S.P. Botkin. The exceptional significance of this school in the history of national medicine is emphasized. It is demonstrated that V.N. Sirotinin was the most outstanding of all his followers, the school leader and one of the leaders of the clinic of inner diseases in Russia during the first decades of XX century. The article presents the scientific biography of V.N. Sirotinin, including his emigration years. It is demonstrated that the issues of organization by V.N. Sirotinin of his own clinical school requires and additional investigation.

[Textual research on a prescription, "Pill of Semen Plantaginis" in the Tangut medical documents unearthed in Khara-Khoto].

A prescription, "Pill of Semen Plantaginisfor Treating All Diseases" (И(HB).N(O).4384) carried in the Tangut medical documents unearthed in Khara-Khoto was published in the 10(th)Volume of Heishuicheng Manuscript Collected in Russia. The prescription is composed of Herba Cistanches, Radix Achyranthis, Semen Plantaginis, white poria, Cortex Cinnamomi, Radix Aconiti preparata, Semen Cuscutaeand baked ginger, whose main function is invigorating kidney yang and nourishing kidney essence. This prescription has a close relationship with the Han prescription in central plain of China which may be based on certain lost Chinese medical book.

[Use of chemical war gases at the Russian-German front during the First World War].

The First World War was notable for the widespread use of machine military hardware and absolutely new type of weapon--chemical weapon. As a result of the first gas attack by chlorine undertaken by the German army against the Russian armies on May, 31st, 1915, heavy poisonings have received 9100 people, 6000 of them died. Chemical attack of Germany against Russia was limited by the use chemical gases of suffocating action: chlorine, bromine,phosgene and diphosgene. It is not known exactly, how many times Germany attacked Russian positions with use of chemical gases. On available data, in the First World War from application by German of the chemical weapon Russia has suffered more, than any other of the at war countries: from five hundred thousand poisoned have died nearby 66,000 people. In turn, having received in the order the chemical weapon of own manufacture, Russian army itself tried to attack in the German armies. It is authentically known only about several cases of application dy Russian of fighting poison gases, and in all cases of loss of germen were insignificant.