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Introduction: Greek physician Oribasius from Pergamum (today's Bergama in western Turkey) (c. 320-400) was one of the most important physicians and personalities of his time., The Life and Career: Oribasisus studied medicine at Alexandria. Although he was the personal physician and friend of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate, and a very important political figure of that period, he has been remembered as a most important medical writer and historian of medicine., Medical Writing: His major work, written in 70 books (only 25 of these survived), was the "Collectiones Medicae" which contains massive compilation of excerpts (epitomai) from the writings of older medical writers of the ancient world. Later on, he produced the "Synopsis for Eustathius" (Synopseos ad Eustathium) for his son Eustathius, who was also a physician. Oribasius dedicated a large work to his friend, the philosopher Eunapius: "Libri ad Eunapium", a kind of medical encyclopaedia in four volumes with a collection of easily procured medicines compiled for laymen. Several more of his writings are known to have been entirely lost. The works of Oribasius were translated in Latin as early as the fifth century, and later, in the medieval times his books were published in Europe (the "Synopsis for Eustathius" was published in 1554), while the critical edition of his works translated from Greek texts was published in Germany in 1926-1933., Commentary and Conclusion: The special importance of the Oribasius' works is that they have preserved a number of excerpts from many medical authors of antiquity whose writings would otherwise have been lost. Besides, these extracts (epitomai) were not entirely verbatim, they were looked upon critically and sorted out in an encyclopaedic manner. Because of that Oribasius is rightly considered to be the first writer of a medical encyclopaedia in the history of medicine.

Introduction: Thin rubber gloves were used for the first time in the history of medicine at the end of 1889. On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of that event at the end of 2009, the great importance of that discovery for the development of surgery in general should be emphasized once again. The surgical gloves were invented and introduced by a famous American surgeon Dr. William Halsted from Johs Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (USA). DR. WILLIAM HALSTED AND MISS CAROLINE HAMPTON: This significant innovation actually occured thanks to the romance between Dr. W. Halsted and his scrub nurse Miss Caroline Hampton, later his wife, Mrs C. Halsted. According to the antiseptic practice of that hospital the hands of the operating personnel had to be desinfected in mercuric chloride which damaged the skin of nurse Caroline who developed a bad case of dermatitis, and because of that she considered abandoning the hospital. This prompted Dr. Halsted to contract Goodyear Rubber Company to produce thin rubber gloves to protect Caroline's hands and to keep her in his vicinity. They proved to be very satisfactory and soon Dr. Halsted's assistants too began to wear sterilized rubber gloves routinely., Commentary and Conclusion: Although it was not until later that the importance of rubber gloves in preventing infection was realized these "gloves of love" soon entered into general surgical practice and proved to be of the greatest importance for the development of asepsis and aseptic surgical work.

Introduction: The medicine had been practiced in ancient Egypt since the earliest, prehistoric days, many millenia before Christ, and was quite developed in later periods. This is evident from the sceletal findings, surgical instruments found in tombs, wall printings, the reliefs and inscriptions, and most of all, from the sparse written material known as medical papyri. However, there were not many physicians from that time whose names had been recorded. The earliest physician in ancient Egypt known by name was Imhotep. WHO WAS IMHOTEP?: Imhotep lived and worked during the time of the 3rd Dynasty of Old Kingdom and served under the pharaoh Djoser (reigned 2667-2648 BC) as his vizier or chief minister, high priest, chief builder and carpenter. He obviously was an Egyptian polymath, a learned man and scribe and was credited with many inventions., Builder: As one of the highest officials of the pharaoh Djoser Imhotep is credited with designing and building of the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqarah, near the old Egyptian capital of Memphis. Imhotep is also credited with inventing the method of stone-dressed building and using of columns in architecture and is considered to be the first architect in history known by name., Physician: It is believed that, as the high priest, Imhotel also served as the nation's chief physician in his time. As the builder of the Step Pyramid, and as a physician, he also had to take medical care of thousands of workers engaged in that great project. He is also credited with being the founder of Egyptian medicine and with being the author of the so-called Smith papirus containing a collection of 48 specimen clinical records with detailed accurate record of the features and treatment of various injuries. As such he emerges as the first physician of ancient Egypt known by name and, at the same time, as the first physician known by name in written history of the world. GOD: As Imhotep was considered by Egyptian people as the "inventor of healing", soon after the death, he was worshiped as a demigod, and 2000 years later he was elevated to the position of a god of medicine and healing. His cult reached its zenith during Greco-Roman times when he was identified with the Greek god of medicine Asclepius., Conclusion: Imhotep was a real historic person from the period of the 3rd Dynasty of Old Kingdom (2686-2637 BC) and he served under the pharaoh Djoser as his vizier and high priest. Obviously, he was a very capable and many-sided man who is believed to be the designer and builder of the so-called Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqarah and of several other buildings. Apart from that he was believed by his people to be the "inventor of healing" and is considered to be the practicing physician at his time and the author of the famous Smith papirus. As such he is considered to be the first physician known by name in written history of the world. He was one of only two mortals ever to be accorded divining status after death.

Introduction: 90 years ago, on November 26th, 1917, died Dr. Elsie Inglis, one of the greatest heroines of the First World War, founder and driving force of the famous "Scottish Women's Hospitals", and one of the most interesting persons in the history of medicine in general, and especially in Serbia where she and her hospitals were of the greatest help in the most difficult times., Childhood and Education: Elsie Maud Inglis was born in India in 1864, in a Scottish family which in 1878 moved back to Scotland where Elsie studied medicine and graduated from the Edinburgh University in 1899. Medical practice and Women's Movement (1894-1914) Dr. E. Inglis worked in Edinburgh, where in 1904. She opened a small hospital for women and children called "The Hospice", which was staffed only by women. She was also very active in the Women's Movement (the so-called suffragettes), fighting for the women's rights and for the Vote. From 1906 until 1914 she was Honorary Secretary of the Scottish Federation of Women's Suffrage Societies. THE FIRST WORLD WAR-THE SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS: After the outbreak of the Great War in August, 1914. Dr. E. Inglis immediately organised, through her Federation, the so-called "Scottish Women's Hospitals" (SWH), on the whole 13 of them, which worked through the war in France, Belgium, Serbia, Greece (Macedonia), and Russia (Romania). SERBIA, 1915: In.January, 1915 the first Unit of the SWH arrived to Kragujevac, and.soon three more hospitals came to Serbian towns of Valjevo, Lazarevac and Mladenovac. In May 1915 Dr. E. Inglis herself came to Serbia. In October, 1915, when the great offensive of the Central Powers began, all these hospitals were evacuated to Krusevac, where they undertook the task of nursing 900 Serbian wounded at the "Csar Lazar" military hospital. Dr. Inglis and the majority of her staff refused to evacuate any further and stayed with their Serb patients. In November, 1915 they became prisoners of war, but continued to treat their patients until February, 1916 when they were repatriated. RUSSIA, 1916-1917: Back home, Dr. E. Inglis formed a new large SWH Unit, which, headed by herself sailed for Russia in August, 1916, and soon joined the so-called Yugoslav Volunteer Division, consisting mainly of Serbs, fighting on the Dobrudja front. After heavy losses and many retreats the remainder of this division, together with the SWH were evacuated back to England, to Newcastle, where Dr. E. Inglis, who was already seriously ill, died, on November 26th, 1917. She was later buried in Edinburgh, with full military honours., Epilogue: High honours were bestowed posthumously on Dr. E. Inglis both by Great Britain and Serbia, and now, 90 years after her death, we should remember her with deep gratitude and respect for all she did for our people in the most difficult times of its history.

The Scottish Women's Hospitals (SWH), a unique health institution in the history of medicine, staffed entirely by women, was founded soon after the outbreak of the First World War, August 12, 1914 in Edinburgh, by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. The founder and the main driving force behind this organisation was Dr. Elsie Inglis (1864-1917). Although her proposition to the British War Office had been rejected, she offered her services to the Allies (France, Belgium, Russia and Serbia). The first 200 bed SWH unit was sent to France in November 1914, and soon after followed other units, so at the end there were 13 very well equipped SWH units working in the various theatres of war in Belgium, Serbia, Russia, Rumania and Greece. The first unit of SWH came to Serbia in early January 1915, and was located at Kragujevac. Soon after, three other SWH units arrived to Serbia and were stationed at Mladenovac, Valjevo and Lazarevac. It was an enormous help to Serbia, full of wounded and sick people, due to the dreadful typhus epidemic which was devastating the country. A large SWH unit, attached to the Southern Slav Volunteer Division, had worked on the Dobrudja front, and there were three hospitals and a special transport unit on the Salonika Front, which were all engaged in the treatment of Serbian wounded soldiers until the end of the First World War. Two other SWH units, located in France, were treating the Serbian refugees. Serving bravely and honorably on the various theatres of war, the legendary Scottish Women's Hospitals made enormous contributions to the allied war efforts, and helped Serbian people a great deal.

A study of the development of the orthopaedic surgery in Novi Sad from the antique times till 1980 when the Clinic for Orthopaedic. Surgery and Traumatology was established has been carried out. Development from Roman Times till the Second World War. The first material evidence of the surgical activities in this area originates from the epoch of the Roman Empire, when under the emperor Augustus (Augustus, 27 B.C.-14 A.D.), the northern border of the Empire was established and fortified on the river Danube. At that time on the place of the contemporary Petrovaradin Fortress, a small fortification with a permanent garrison, called Cusum, was built. As it was proved by excavation of the surgical instruments from the Roman time at the nearby Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium) the surgery in the Roman legions was quite developed and it could be concluded that some forms of surgery and orthopaedics were practised in the antique Cusum as well. There is no reliable evidence about the health service in the area after the Roman era till the 1689 when Petrovaradin was finally sized by Austrian troops from the Turks, and when the first recorded hospital (Petrovaradin Military Hospital) in this region was founded. At that time on the northern shore of the river Danube a new settlement, developing later into the town of Novi Sad, was established. Surgery together with orthopaedics at that time were performed by the so-called "feldschers", and then by primitive, self-taught surgeons who were actually experienced barbers, while educated doctors started to practice surgery only in the 19th century when the first surgical department in Novi Sad was founded in the Great Town Hospital, and for years after that, the orthopaedics was practised by general surgeons. The foundation of the Anglo-Yugoslav Children's Hospital for Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints at Sremska Kamenica in 1934 by Dr. Katherine S. Macphail, a great benefactress of our people, was of great importance for the development of orthopaedics in this area as it was the first orthopaedic hospital in the country. The first small unit for orthopaedics, as a part of the Surgical Department of the Novi Sad State Hospital, was established in 1937 and led by a surgeon, Dr. Nikola Pravdica. Development from the Second World War till the 1980. After the Second World War the Main Provincial Hospital with two surgical departments was established in Novi Sad. At the so-called Second Surgical Department led by Dr. Nestor Teodorovic a small unit for traumatology and orthopaedics was founded in 1946, which functioned as such till 1953. The first properly trained orthopaedic surgeon was Dr. Stojan Letic who passed the specialty exam in 1953 and was attached to the Second Surgical Department of the Main Provincial Hospital. The first independent Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Department, led by an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Vladimir Razenj, was established in 1956. From 1959 till 1963 the department was led by Prim. Dr. Dobrivoje Gradistanac. In 1963 this department together with the former "English Hospital" at Sremska Kamenica were incorporated into the so-called Clinic for Surgical Diseases and divided in the Orthopaedic (led by Prof. Milenko Dosen) and separated Traumatologic (led by Prim. Stojan Letić) departments which existed as such till 1975 when they were integrated again into a single unit which evolved into the Clinic for Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology in 1980.

An experimental study on transplantation validity of patella's ligament, when transplanting front crossed ligament, was performed on 106 knees in 53 grown-up dogs. The investigation had three stages. Three months after the transplantation of the front crossed ligament with the medial third part of the patella's ligament animals were sacrificed and in one group the static resistance and the resistance to elongation, by using special tweezers (Alfred Amsler Co., Schafhausen, Switzerland), was investigated. The results showed that the patella's ligament is very suitable for transplantation because its resistance and strength were almost identical with the same parameters of intact front crossed ligament. Revascularization of the new ligament using Spaltenholz's technique was done in the second group, and three months after the operation, complete revascularization of transplants took place. The synovial membrane which covers the new ligament represents the main source of fresh blood vessels on one side, while similar process takes place along the bone tunnels where the new ligament was fixed. The new ligament histologic analysis carried out in the third group of experimental animals showed that after three months the transplant acquires the structure which is very similar to the front crossed ligament. The obtained results of the investigation show that the patella's ligament is a very good biologic material for transplantation of the crossed ligament.

A radiogrametric assessment of the patellar height performed by three measurement methods, in the lateral views of radiograms of 136 patients with chondromalacia of the patella was aimed at the establishment of certain parameter values in the studied population and the assessment of the influence the altered patellofemoral ratio has upon the onset of the disease. The results of the study verified the remarkable advantages of the method by Insall and Salvati for the measurement of the patellar height and showed a significant involvement of patellofemoral incongruity in the development of chondromalacia, since in 15-16% of the cases the patella was not properly placed.

The results of total knee replacement in 30 patients have been analyzed. Total knees were implanted during 1990, and the shortest follow-up time after the operations amounted to 6 months. All 30 total condylar prosthesis were of Insall-Burstein posterior stabilized design. The average age of the operated patients was 61 years. Osteoarthritis caused serious knee damage in 21 patients and was the indication for the operation; in 7 patients it was rheumatoid arthritis; in 1 patient synovitis villonodularis; and severe posttraumatic osteoarthrosis in 1 patient. In 18 patients axial knee deformity was noted prior to operation in the sense of valgus or varus. The continuous passive motion machine was used in the postoperative treatment of all patients. Clinically acceptable results were obtained in 90%. Wound healing complications were noted in 2 patients. Full axial deformity correction was achieved in all the patients with a full extension and flexion of over 90 degrees in the operated knees. Preliminary results after the implantation of this type of prosthesis are very encouraging and justify it's further routine use.