Zdorovʹe Rebenka (Oct 2020)
Child’s health in the mirror of numismatics. Report 1. The history of pediatrics
Abstract
The purpose of the work was to analyze the history of pediatrics development based on numismatic materials. Numismatics (from the Latin numisma — coin), the branch of historical science, originated in the 19th century and became closely related to economics, politics, culture and law, it includes the thematic study of coins, medals and plaques. The history of pediatrics is best illustrated by various forms of medal art (exonumia, or paranumismatics), and the medal became the prototype of a commemorative (memorial) coin. This work presents a catalogue of 116 numismatic materials (97 medals, 11 plaques, 8 coins), including some unique ones that were presented for the first time. There are images on coins and medals of common international symbols of pediatrics — Har-pa-khered, or Harpocrates (a boy holding a finger to his mouth), and later ones (a pelican feeding its chicks by the blood from the torn breast, and a Florentine swaddled baby). The stages of development of the study of using therapeutic factors were reflected in the work on the materials of numismatics, there are references to significant historical events; brief biographies of physicians (46 persons) were mentioned, who made an invaluable contribution to the formation of pediatric science. On the medals, it can be found the portraits of the organizers of the service of providing medical care for children, prominent pediatricians and representatives of narrow specialists. Unfortunately, for now the memory of famous pediatricians of the past is not sufficiently marked by release of numismatic products, therefore, we hope for a systematic approach to this matter in the future, for the purposeful promotion of the achievements of pediatrics by means of numismatics, which provides an visual example for studying the history of medicine, contributes to an increase in the level of doctor’s education. The authors expect to emerge of new interesting materials of such small forms of art.
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