The roots of international dermatology

Abstract

This article gives historical overview of the development of international and European dermatovenereological societies. The first European Dermatological Society and the first world Venereological Society open in Russia. Taking into consideration the fact that it was the first officially registered national dermatological society whereas Municipal Society of New York and American National Society were not registered by state authorities, the Russian Society is regarded here as the first world official dermatological society. This article reviews the proffesional development of Prof Benjamin Mikhialovitch Tarnowsky (1837-1906) the most significant dermatovenerologist, influenced the development of world and Russian dermatovenerology, worked in the first world hospital specifically devoted to venereology, Kalinkinskaya Hospital ( founded in 1750, Saint Petersburg). Depicts XII International Congress, held in Moscow in August 7-14th, 1897, where the dermotology section was represented by internationally recognized scientists. Among speakers Kaposi (Wien), Hallopeau (Paris), Gaucher (Paris), Barthelemy(Paris), Wolf (Strassburg), Rosenthal (Berlin), Nikolsky (Kiev), Lindstrem (Kiev), Jullien (Paris), Poper- Mor (Budapest), Schwimmer (Budapest), Pospelov (Moscow), Tarnowsky( Saint Petersburg); such sientists as Unna, Campana, Lassar, Soffiantini, van Hoorn, Vatrashevsky, Yakovlev, Sack participated in the discussion.

Dermatology and Venereology in The Mirror of Collection Media

“…In addition to being a Nobel laureate in medicine and physiology (1908) for the discovery of humoral immunity, he was a bacteriologist, microbiologist and scientist who dealt with syphilidology [1,2,4]. It was he, together with the chemist Alfred Bertheim, who, on the basis of arsenic compounds, in 1910, developed and created an effective means for the treatment of syphilis, the legendary drug "606", called "Salvarsan", which helped to cure tens, if not hundreds of thousands of syphilis patients around the world [1,2,4]. He and his assistant, Japanese microbiologist Sahachiro Hata, conducted preclinical testing of the drug.…”

“…He and his assistant, Japanese microbiologist Sahachiro Hata, conducted preclinical testing of the drug. In 1912, Ehrlich replaced Salvarsan with a less toxic, easier-to-use derivative, Neosalvarsan, which became the standard treatment for syphilis until the late 1940s, when it was replaced by penicillin as a safer alternative treatment for syphilis [1,2,4]. A selection of collectible philatelic (firstday postage stamps and envelopes, with original postmarks), bonistics (a banknote of the Federal Republic of Germany (1989), with a face value of 200 German marks, obverse and reverse, with a portrait of P. Ehrlich and the formula of salvarsan) and numismatic (commemorative medals), dedicated to Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata and to the "salvarsan" invented and introduced by them, are presented in Fig.…”

“…A selection of collectible philatelic (firstday postage stamps and envelopes, with original postmarks), bonistics (a banknote of the Federal Republic of Germany (1989), with a face value of 200 German marks, obverse and reverse, with a portrait of P. Ehrlich and the formula of salvarsan) and numismatic (commemorative medals), dedicated to Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata and to the "salvarsan" invented and introduced by them, are presented in Fig. 2 whose name is given to the gonorrhea pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which he discovered in 1879 [4]. He was also active in the study of syphilis and leprosy (leprae).…”

“…He was the first to isolate and identify Bacillus leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, proposed a method of staining it for microscopy, and dealt with contagious molluscum and tuberculosis of the skin. He is the founder, in 1902, of the German Society for the Control of Venereological Diseases [4]. Next, we will talk about Karl Herxheimer (1861-1942) was a German dermatologist of Jewish origin.…”

“…He described acrodermatitis atrophicus chronica (Herxheimer-Gartmann atrophic acrodermatitis). At the end of 1942, at the age of 81, Karl Herxheimer was killed by the Nazis in Theresienstadt [4]. In his honor, in modern Germany, the Carl Herxheimer Medal, which is the highest award in German dermatology, is awarded to outstanding scientists in the field of dermatovenereology, in memory of the great doctor, teacher and researcher Carl Herxheimer [4].…”