Roots of modern cardiology in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to present the achievements of Polish physicians in the field of heart diseases in the times when cardiology was still not established as a separate branch of medicine, i.e. in the last decades of the 19th and the opening decades of the 20^th centuries. The article is based on results previously delivered in historical works of other researchers and on original texts coming from the era which is the subject of the present report. The review focuses on the main topics of scientific investigation related to heart diseases — the subject of interest for physicians who are depicted herein. It should be stressed that only part of their intellectual heritage could be presented, with only a limited selection of names, articles, or books. Nevertheless, even when narrowed in scope, it shows innovativeness in many aspects of practical and scientific approaches to clinical problems. It also brings to our mind times when the dreams of many have wandered around the independence of one’s homeland, dreams which finally came true in 1918. From Adam Raciborski, who was fighting in the November Uprising and then was forced to leave Polish soil, to Andrzej Klisiecki, a soldier of the resurrected Polish army, defending his country against the Bolshevik invasion in 1920, the majority of researchers would take a strong patriotic attitude and work for the benefit of society. When Poland was back on the maps of Europe, they were able to open a new chapter in their scientific research, valuing the treasure of independence.