Laboratory of Medical and Physics Research
"MONIKI" named after M.F.Vladimirskiy

          OTHERS  

Brief investigation on the history of medical physics.        Today it is officially accepted to reckon to chronology in the medical physics since the moment of discovery of the phenomenon of a X-ray activity (radio-activity) in the beginning of XX-th century and occurrence of the first works in a clinics of young physicist Sidney Russ (see Jennings A. "The early days of medical physics." // Materials of 10-th session of the European School of Medical Physics in Archamps, France. - Archamps, MedicalPhysicsWeb, 2007.). However, in our opinion, it is not absolutely so. It is correct only for one of sections of medical physics - the ionizing-radiation medical physics. As a whole, medicine and physics throughout all history were always inseparably linked with each other. For example, the first talented physicists - Foucault, Puazejl, Helmholts, Th. Young, etc. - were by training doctors. Concepts of temperature, weights of a body, mechanical properties of blood, such as viscous and fluid liquid, a number of optical and acoustic items and phenomena have been simultaneously entered into the use, studied and used at practice as by physicists, and doctors of that time.

     Originally more likely the medicine set a vector of development of physics, rather than on the contrary. But the first birth of new methods of diagnostics and treatment in the medicine, becoming possible thanking efforts of professional physicists, has occurred already in the end of a XVIII-th century together with occurrence and development of the theory of an electricity on the basis of the scientific research by B.Franklin, Ch. F. Dufay, Ch. A. Coulomb, A.Volta, L.Galvani and other physicists of that time. This is in our opinion that moment of time which can be named by date of the birth of the fundamental medical physics by right. From this point on there is such method of a treatment as electrotreatment, and many professional physicists of Europe start to devote the most part of time to its studying and a substantiation. Isn't an exception here and Russia. The first mentions of application of physical methods of treatment in medicine in Russia concern the city of Bogoroditsk of the Tula's region and to our Old-Ekaterina's hospital in Moscow (nowadays our "MONIKI"), when in it in 1793 after only two years (!) from the opening publication of "an animal electricity" by L.Galvani, has been applied «the electric device with the medical purpose». Theoretical foundations to it, most possibly, were developed by one of the most talented contemporaries and favourites of Russian Empress Ekaterina-II, the scientist, the philosopher, the agriculturist, the economist, the publicist, the director of theater, and also the managing director under Ekaterina-II for Bogoroditsky's and Bobrikovsky's volosts Andrey Timofeevich Bolotov. Studying physics and medicine in 1792-1793 he with own hand writes and publishes for the means in the form of monographies such books as "Kratkiy elektricheskiy lechebnik" ["Short electrical treatment handbook"] and "Istoriya moego elektrizovaniya i vrachevaniya razlichnyh boleznei onym" ["History of mine electrisation and doctoring of different illnesses by this"]. Not without justification Bolotov consider also as the founder of the Russian technique of electrophoresis (see Russian journal "Nauka i zhizn'" [«Science and Life»], No.1, 2010. – p.34-40). The first officially registered medical-physical society in Russia has arisen at Moscow State (then "Imperial") University already in 1808 (!). It was called as "Highest the Society of competition of medical and physical sciences confirmed at the Moscow Imperial University", later – «the Russian medical-physical society». The deserved professor of anatomy and surgery F.Keresturi became its basic organizer and the first chairman. Then the first domestic magazine on the medical physics - «Russian medical-physical journal», published by the secretary of a society, the outdoor adviser of medicine, professor Ivan Vensovich - was issued also. The purpose of creation of the magazine and the society as it is written in the first release of the magazine, – «the newest medical-physical opening …» and «...the help to doctors in struggle against errors and dogmas of imaginary transcendental medicine». Mentions of it have remained in archives of the Moscow State University, Moscow Medical Library and Russian State Library. The first releases of the Russian medical-physical journal are stored there as well. So the medical physics exists in Russia already at least 200+ years! And it is not so important that the war with Napoleon in 1812 has taken away only 3 years of active life to this first society. It is not excluded that historically this Russian medical-physical society was in general the first officially registered community of medical physicists all over the World.