Ahi Evran Medical Journal (Dec 2024)
Medicine and Health in Kırşehir According to the Article Series "The Medical Topography of Kırşehir Sanjak" by Kırşehir Municipality Physician Şakir Abdullah in the Journal of Vakayi-i Tıbbiye (1898)
Abstract
Purpose: The first modern medical school in the Ottoman Empire was established in 1827 with the aim of training physicians for the military, and in 1867, the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Mülkiye was founded to train civilian physicians for the provinces. According to the Tabâbet-i Belediye İcrasına Dair Nizâmnâme (Regulation on the Practice of Municipal Medicine), health services in rural settlements were planned, and the first civilian physicians began to be assigned to the provinces. The purpose of this study is to examine Kırşehir from the perspective of both city history and, specifically, health history, through the writings published in the Vakayi-i Tıbbiye Mecmuası, which are considered significant in the history of Turkish medicine and authored by Şakir Abdullah, who served as the municipal physician of Kırşehir at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Materials and Methods: The main material of this study consists of the article series titled "Kırşehir Sancağı'nın Topoğrafya-yı Tıbbîsidir" (The Medical Topography of Kırşehir Province), written by Kırşehir Municipality Physician Şakir Abdullah in 1898, published in Vakayi-i Tıbbiye. A simple transcription of the nine issues from the 19th volume of the journal, published in Ottoman Turkish, was conducted, and the medical information provided in these issues was examined. Results: As a result of the analysis, information was gathered on various topics, including Kırşehir’s geographical and population data, weather conditions, animals living in the region, plants cultivated, the temperaments of the people residing in this geography, the diseases they suffered from, as well as the region’s hot springs and cleanliness. Conclusion: It was concluded that Şakir Abdullah’s article series, published in Vakayi-i Tıbbiye in 1898, contains valuable information regarding the city history and health history of Kırşehir. With this information, the medical and health history of Kırşehir has been brought to light in a historical context.
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