New about the medical police specialist and the founder of scientific pediatrics Stepan Khomych Khotovytsky (1796–1885)

Abstract

Purpose: to introduce into scientific circulation both new materials about the life and activities of S. Kh. Khotovytsky and to identify his works on the medical police, and to critically review what has been published about him. Materials and methods. At the same time, we widely involve the fundamental books of M.I. Teodorovych; both his history of the Volyn Theological Seminary and the five-volume historical and statistical description of the churches and parishes of the Volyn Eparchy, as well as “Volyn Diocesan Vedomosti” and other historical sources that have so far been ignored by researchers who have been involved in covering the biography of Prof. Khotovytsky; and the method we use is historical. Results. The Khotovytskys from Volyn and many of them were priests. So, the grandfather of our hero, Ioann Khotovytsky, was a priest of the St. Michael Church (1777–1786) in the town of Bilozirka, Kremenets County, Volyn Province (now a village in the Kremenets District of the Ternopil Region). Father – Khoma Ivanovich (Ioannovich) Khotovytsky (†16/28.03.1823) was a priest of the Resurrection Church (from 1796 until his death) in the town of Krasyliv, Starokostyantynivskyi district, Volyn province – now a city in the Khmelnytskyi district of the Khmelnytskyi region. Thus, Stepan (Stefan) Khomich Khotovytsky was born into a Ukrainian priest’s family in Volyn. The Khotovytsky family included Archpriest and Rector of the Volyn Theological Seminary Alexander Antonovich Khotovytsky (1834–1893/1894), as well as Archbishop of Vinnytsia and Bratslav Alipii (Khotovytsky; 1901, Lutsk district – 1977, Odesa). Stefan Khotovytsky received his secondary education at the Volyn Theological Seminary, which was then located in the city of Ovruch (now the Korosten district of the Zhytomyr region). He then received higher medical education at the St. Petersburg Medical- Surgical Academy (1813–1817), and then completed his advanced training abroad (1818–1822). At that time, pediatrics was not yet an independent discipline, but was part of obstetrics. His first teachers were Professor Sergey Alekseevich Gromov (1776–1856), who taught both obstetrics and forensic medicine and medical police. Then his teachers were professor of state medicine University of Vienna Johann Josef Bernt (1770–1842), as well as professor of obstetrics: Johann Lucas Boër (1751–1835) at the University of Vienna, Friedrich Benjamin Osiander (1759–1822) at the University of Göttingen and James Hamilton (1767–1839) at the University of Edinburgh. In the scientific and teaching activities of S. Khotovytsky can be distinguished in two periods: a) 1822-–1836. During these years, he worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist and pediatrician, and at the same time as a specialist in forensic medicine and medical police. Therefore, it is not by chance that a significant place in the scientific heritage of S. Khotovytsky is also occupied by works in which the problems of the medical police are considered; b) 1836–1847. During this period, he headed the department of obstetrics with women’s and children’s diseases, but he paid the main attention to pediatrics, which led to his writing the textbook “Pediatrics” (1847), which summarized the vast experience accumulated by the author during his work as a pediatrician. Conclusions. Professor Stepan Khomych Khotovytsky should be considered the founder of scientific pediatrics in Ukraine. At the same time, he was one of the first Ukrainians to be a specialist in the medical police.