I am historian of medicine focusing mostly on early modern period with emphasis on Latin printed sources. I wrote or co-wrote several monographs dealing with history of anatomy in Bohemia, history of plague as well as history of tea, coffee and chocolate.
At present, I lead the Institute for History of Medicine and Foreign Languages founded a century ago at the Charles University. I am also head of supervisory board for Ph.D. study program "History of Medicine".
Our institute provides compulsory courses in medical terminology, foreign language courses and eligible subjects in history of medicine. Part of our courses are taught in English.
At present, I lead the Institute for History of Medicine and Foreign Languages founded a century ago at the Charles University. I am also head of supervisory board for Ph.D. study program "History of Medicine".
Our institute provides compulsory courses in medical terminology, foreign language courses and eligible subjects in history of medicine. Part of our courses are taught in English.
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Papers by Karel Černý
explains how Europeans fought smallpox even before variolation was introduced. The records in the medical literature of the second half of the 17th century show that there were at least two independent traditions within which attempts were made to reduce the effects of smallpox. The first was based on an academic medical environment and can apparently be first found in the work of Franciscus de le Boë. The other was part of a folk tradition, the so-called “buying of pustules”, which was practised in the territory of northern Italy, the British Isles and Poland. In order to be able to present the mentioned methods in a broader context, this paper deals with
contemporary views of the pathology of smallpox and also gender-specific aspects of the history of the disease.
explains how Europeans fought smallpox even before variolation was introduced. The records in the medical literature of the second half of the 17th century show that there were at least two independent traditions within which attempts were made to reduce the effects of smallpox. The first was based on an academic medical environment and can apparently be first found in the work of Franciscus de le Boë. The other was part of a folk tradition, the so-called “buying of pustules”, which was practised in the territory of northern Italy, the British Isles and Poland. In order to be able to present the mentioned methods in a broader context, this paper deals with
contemporary views of the pathology of smallpox and also gender-specific aspects of the history of the disease.
In the second part, we will suggest three frameworks, in which we can analyze the emergence of epidemics or plagues. The first one is paleopathological (i.e. since what time do we detect traces of infectious agents in human remains); the second framework is cultural (which narratives mark the oldest and most devastating epidemiological crises), and the third one is bio-medical (when was the cause of plague as well as other infectious diseases discovered by modern medicine).
The third part of this paper will present a short list of some of the most important biological pathogens (plague, leprosy, TB, syphilis, smallpox, HIV, flu) and put them into a chronological perspective.