Cluj Medical Faculty History Quiz

Cluj Medical Faculty Tradition

• The property rights for teaching materials belong exclusively to Prof. Dr. Cristian Bârsu. Dissemination of any part without consent and citation is prohibited.
• Higher education in Transylvania began in Cluj during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
• A "Medical-Surgical School" was established in Cluj in 1775, later becoming the "Medical-Surgical Institute" in 1818.
• The Faculty of Medicine in Cluj was founded in 1872, within the "Ferencz Jozsef" University of Cluj.
• The faculty evolved from the Medical-Surgical Institute.
• Notable professors included, but were not limited to, Zsigmond Purjesz (internist), Aurel Török (anatomist), and Károly Lechner (neuro-psychiatrist).
• The entire Cluj university, including the medical faculty, ceased to exist in Cluj in 1919.
• Romanian higher education in Cluj was established shortly after Transylvania joined Romania in 1919, during a difficult historical period.

University Commission of 1919

• The Romanian University of Cluj was established democratically in 1919 by the "University Commission".
• Prof. Sextil Puşcariu was the president of this commission
• The commission selected high-achieving candidates for professor and associate professor positions.
• The medical section within the commission included: Prof. Dr. Gheorghe Marinescu (neurologist), Prof. Dr. Ernest Juvara (surgeon), Prof. Dr. Mihail Manicatide (pediatrician), and Transylvanian doctors Iuliu Hațieganu and Iuliu Moldovan.

Medical School Characteristics

• The concept of a medical school is to establish a school that is led and founded by a teacher who has influential and significant students.
• These students in turn become leaders and teachers forming the next generation
• The principles of ethics and medical humanism are carried on through generations.
• Multiple schools within a medical school exist (intern medicine, surgery, anatomy, etc.)

Cluj School of Internal Medicine

• Iuliu Hațieganu was the founder of the Cluj School of Internal Medicine
• Notable disciples included: Ioan Goia, Leon Daniello, Ion Gavrilă, Aurel Moga, Octavian Fodor, Viorel Gligore, V. Moisescu, Liviu Comes, Roman Vlaicu, and D. Dumitrașcu.
• Clinics were led by Hațieganu's disciples, including: Medical Semiology (Ioan Goia then Viorel Gligore), Pneumo-phthisiology (Leon Daniello), and Contagious Diseases ( Ion Gavrilă and Liviu Comes)
• The hospital for Pneumo-Phthisiology in Cluj-Napoca was called Leon Daniello.

Inter-War Period Departments

• New departments were added to the Cluj medical faculty during the interwar period.
• Departments that did not exist in Bucharest or Iași included:
  • Dentistry
  • ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat)
  • Radiology
  • Medical Semiology
  • History of Medicine
  • Balneology
• Prestigious French professors worked at the faculty, including Jules Guiart (History of Medicine), Pierre Thomas (Biochemistry), and René Jeannel (Biology and Genetics).
• Important books were created, including Elementary Treatise on Semiology and Medical Pathology as well as Treatise on Histology

Cluj Faculty of Medicine 1919-1940

• The departments of the Romanian Faculty of Medicine in Cluj and their management from 1919-1940
  • Descriptive and topographic anatomy-Victor Papilian
  • Histology – Ioan Drăgoiu
  • Physiology - Ioan Niţescu then Grigore Benetato
  • Pathological anatomy - Victor Babeş or/and Titu Vasiliu
  • General and experimental pathology-Constantin Levaditi
  • Hygiene and Social Hygiene- Iuliu Moldovan
  • Medical Clinic-Iuliu Hațieganu (anti-tuberculosis,anti-veneric dispensaries, dispensaries for physical education, first sports park, consultation office for the poor)
  • Surgical Clinic- Iacob Iacobovici
  • Neurological Clinic - Ion Minea
  • Psychiatric Clinic - Constantin Ureche
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology - Cristea Grigoriu
  • Dermatology and venereal diseases - Stefan Gh. Nicolau, then Coriolan Tătaru
  • Pediatrics-Titu Gane
  • Ophthalmology - Dumitru Michail,
  • Forensic medicine-Nicolae Minovici and Mina Minovici
  • Biochemistry - Pierre Thomas
  • Dentistry - Gheorghe Bilascu, then Ioan Aleman
  • Otorhinolaryngology- Ion Predescu-Rion
  • Radiology-Dimitrie Negru

Additional Information

• Many professors studied in Vienna or Berlin.
• The period from 1940 - 1945, the School of Medicine was in Sibiu
• In 1948, the Faculty of Medicine was separated from the University of Cluj and formed the base for the Cluj Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy.
• Significant professors who studied in Paris included Victor Babeş, Nicolae Minovici, Constantin Levaditi.
• Cluj medical education modernizing in the post-1989 period. It adapted its models from Western European schools with influences from the USA. There was a renewed focus on establishing specialized departments, dental journals, and associations in Romania.

Test your knowledge on the rich history of the Cluj Medical Faculty, from its origins in the Middle Ages to its evolution in the 19th century. Discover notable figures and the significant events that shaped medical education in Transylvania. Perfect for students of medical history or anyone interested in the evolution of healthcare education in Romania.