Rudolf Kimla: Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague and a member of PAU in Kraków. On the history of Czech-Polish relations in the field of medicine

The paper discusses the research activities of Professor Rudolf Kimla (1866-1950) in the context of the cooperation between Slavic nations (notably as a PAU member during a 1933 medical congress in Poznań).

The health care system is an important vector of effective management in the current conditions of the Ukrainian health care system. The article deals with the analysis of the main factors influencing which is the development of effective interaction between public administration and the health care system of Ukraine. In the article we analyzed activity by a qualitative method of SWOT-analysis.

This article is devoted to the problems that prevail in times from antiquity to the present day. The specter of an epidemic, known to humankind since the dawn of time, was a negative phenomenon, destabilizing contemporary life and having a significant impact on biological, social, economic and cultural aspects. It was impossible to protect against the epidemic – until the 19th century, medicine did much more damage than we might imagine. Doctors were powerless against diseases, they healed as much as they could, unable to overcome the specter of the coming plague. Is not that also the case today? COVID-19 is not much different from the “epidemics” that hit our country in previous centuries. Both in the past and today, there is no cure for the disease that prevails today, only to treat its external symptoms. The juxtaposition of some of the largest in the history of the world right now, and comparing them to the COVID-19 raging since autumn 2019 shows us that with the medicine of that time, we are not threatened with such depopulation of the world as it used to be... to our heritage, look at the works on the plagues to learn from them for the future. The article cites historical and literary sources, as well as older or newer studies, showing how much evil epidemics once caused, how people tried to protect against them, and if the threat appeared in their area, how it was fought.

Metaphors are vital for medical practice and experience of illness. They enable negotiation of shared semantic space between physician’s and patient’s thought and language. For patients metaphors brighten difficult and abstract medical terminology regarding diagnosis, course of illness and therapy. They help attach shared meanings to body, health and illness. Metaphors also enable construction of the idea of what illness actually is, and thus they help in dealing with illness’ experience. It is due to the fact that metaphors enable expression of thoughts and feeling that are difficult to articulate: pain, suffering and fear of death. On the other hand, making use of metaphors may lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of reality. They may be a source of confusion, stereotypes and social exclusion. All in all, medical education should stress that medicine is not only a technē but also an art of interpretation in which metaphors are of key importance. Thus, this paper aims to describe main metaphors present in medical discourse: military metaphor, detective, terror, mechanic, (bio) informative, (bio)chemist, puzzle and riddle, economic, sport, ecologic, automobile, journey and dirt. I also describe some of metaphors present in genetic discourse: DNA as a text, code, information just as sacral and cartographic metaphors. My main thesis suggests, in opposition to Susan Sontag, that metaphors are vital to our understanding of illness and are essential for doctor - patient communication.

The incrising demand for regulating social relations which are becoming more complicated is an efect of developing civilization, including in it the level of protection of human rights in XXI century. Standarization is a synonym of the nowadys developing world economy. Apart of the legal rules there are other regulation systems like moral standards, ethical standards, deontological norms or customs. These regulation systems are the complementary systems to the law regulations. Their origin is the natural law. Deontological principles mostly are legally binding like planty of ethical standards in medicine. The reason of the legal power of ethics in medicine is libility for human life. Code of Medical Ethics is also the source of legal norms in medical law. The most important legal norm for medical practice is the doctor’s obligation to treat patients acording to the current medical knowledge. Besides doctors should conduct their practice in a socially acceptable way as working in a profession of public trust.

“Allah Has Not Sent Any Disease but with Medicine, so Heal Yourself” – About the History of Medicine in the Islamic World at the Turn of the 7th–13th Centuries

This article concerns the medicine of the Arab world during its heyday from the Prophet Muhammad to the beginning of the 13th century and the emergence of European research centers. During the golden age of Islam, the medicine of this period developed rapidly. At that time, many therapies and drugs were created, used in a slightly changed form to this day. Without them, there would not be many discoveries in diseases, epidemics, surgeries, anatomy, dietetics, ophthalmology, or therapies. The article aims to show a cross-sectional division of medicine in the Islamic world from the 7th to the 13th century, outlining the most important achievements in this field.

The position of the European Union towards artificial intelligence in medicine. Analysis and implications of the ‘Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonized rules on artificial intelligence’

In the face of a technological revolution driven by advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the following work aims to explore the expected implications and consequences based on the Regulation of the European Parliamen and Councilt: Artificial Intelligence Act, with a particular focus on the medical sector. The above mentioned act, which is a response to the dynamic social and technological changes, is a groundbreaking initiative of the European Union aimed at ensuring the safe, ethical and responsible use of AI. In the healthcare sector, where AI has the potential to fundamentally transform diagnosis, therapy and healthcare management, this regulation plays a key role in defining the future of data-driven medicine. Our work examines the impact of this legal act regarding safety, transparency and the protection of civil rights in the medical sector. We draw attention to the fundamental challenges and threats related to the integration of AI in medicine, including issues of ethics, security and data protection. Our work highlights that the future of AI in the healthcare sector should be shaped not only by technological progress, but also by a strong commitment to ethics, responsibility and respect for human rights.