Medics in the Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century: Ivan Antonovich Pribil

Abstract

The article examines facts related to the service of the medical practitioner Ivan Antonovich Pribil (1808-1866) in the Caucasus based on archival and literary sources. I.A. Pribil received his medical degree in Prague, and a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery – in Vienna. He took part in 1808 in a competition for foreign doctors to fill vacant positions in medical boards of Russia. According to the examination at the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy, he was recognized as a doctor and, after signing the contract, was assigned to the Russian service, in the Caucasus. In the first half of the 19th century, infectious diseases such as malaria, plague, cholera, and typhus were widespread in the Caucasus. From the first years of service, I.A. Pribil actively joined the fight against epidemics, contributed to the formation of an anti-epidemic sanitary culture of the population; established that the incidence of typhus was associated with lice and transmitted to people through contact with infected lice. To combat typhus, he implemented washing of patients in steam baths. He organized the work of a military hospital in Tiflis. A special practical skill of I. A. Pribil manifested itself in the treatment of women’s and children’s diseases. His theoretical and practical knowledge of obstetrics put him among the leading obstetricians in the Caucasus. Based on the studied material, an attractive image of a doctor and a humanist is created, a person who has earned the deep respect of others with his knowledge and personal qualities.