Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 13. (Budapest, 1959)
Dr. I. CSILLAG and Dr. H. JELLINEK: From primitive Haemostatic Methods to Modern Vascular Surgery
Hua Tu (115 to 205 A. D.) was a famous surgeon in China, discovering an anaesthetic method: he gave hasheesh to the patient to be operated. He performed abdominal section and splenectomy and described 200 variations of the pulse believing that is only the pulse with the aid of which one can set up a diagnosis. From 622 on, it were the Arabs who got into the forefront of medicine. Libraries, medical schools were founded in Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo and Cordova. The Spain of the 12th century had 17 institutions of high school level and 70 libraries. The Arabian physicians, Abulkasim, Avicenna, Aeahavari (10th century) were familiar with all the practicable ancient methcels regarding haemostasis, moreover, they gathered new knowledge as well in the field of haemorrhages. They knew also the disease of haemophilia. During the Middle Ages (12th century) great universities were founded in Europe, as in Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Padova, Bologna, Messina, Naples, Pavia, Salerno, Lissabon, Prague and Venice. Out of them the school of Salerno was the most significant and its effect was felt in the entire medieval medical science. First of all theology had been taught at these universities and great care was taken that the advance in natural sciences should not be too rapiel. The clergical or priest eloctors were prohibited by measures of the Pope to perform sanguineus operations. This was prohibited also by the Synoel of Buda in 1279: ,,ne illam portem hirurgiae exserceat, quae ad uscionem, vel incisionem tendat". The Renaissance brought a new era in surgery as well. In 1306 Mondino held his first anatomical demonstration in Bologne. Benedetti (1460—1525) opened in 1490 his dissection hall, the Theatrum Anatomicum. With this fact a new book in the history of surgery is opened and in the 16th century surgery begins to develop at the point where its achievements were dropped in the 3rd century. Vesalius (1513 to 1564) was the most excellent figure of this period. He was the first in the history of mankind w 7 ho wrote a book on anatomy. He revolutionized the branch of science
