The exhibition of the Military Medical Museum displays a scheme of the Pharmacy Department functions that were characteristic for the first half of the 17th century. This exhibit was created in the museum workshop where models and visual aids were produced during the Soviet period.
The Aptekarsky Prikaz (Pharmacy Department) was the name of the medical department in the Muscovite State of the 16th — 17th centuries. Initially, it was located in the Kremlin, in a stone building opposite the Chudov Monastery, which ceased to exist. Since 1676, the department was located in the street that is now known as Starovagankovsky Lane.
The Pharmacy Department was created in 1581 as one of the palace departments. It was responsible for the replenishment of the royal pharmacy with medicines and supervising the work of the doctors, who were invited to the court of Ivan the Terrible. The department was formed on the basis of the palace department during the reign of Boris Godunov. At that time, Russian and foreign doctors and pharmacists, who had previously taken care only of the tsar, began to treat the courtiers and the army as well.
During the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, the Pharmacy Department was abolished, but in 1620, Mikhail Romanov restored the department as the supreme body for the medical administration in Russia. The department invited foreign doctors to treat the Russian sovereign, supervised pharmacies and medicinal gardens, oversaw the collection and cultivation of medicinal plants. Besides, the Pharmacy Department was in charge of assigning doctors to the troops and setting their salaries, organizing field pharmacies, and purchasing rare medicines and medical equipment overseas. They also carried out the certification of doctors and pharmacists, and resolved disputes between employees.
In 1654, the first medical school was created at the Pharmacy Department to train Russian doctors. Thirty Streltsy (infantry soldiers equipped with firearms, ‘shooters’ in Russian) and their children were assigned to foreign doctors, who, with the help of translators, taught them medicine. Four years later, the first doctors graduated from the school. Everyone, who completed their studies and received a doctor title, were assigned to army regiments or allowed to work in the Pharmacy Department. Thus, the government made an attempt to establish a state system of medical education in the country. However, the attempt was not very successful: in 1681, the list of the Pharmacy Department contained only 21 Russian doctors.
The Aptekarsky Prikaz (Pharmacy Department) was the name of the medical department in the Muscovite State of the 16th — 17th centuries. Initially, it was located in the Kremlin, in a stone building opposite the Chudov Monastery, which ceased to exist. Since 1676, the department was located in the street that is now known as Starovagankovsky Lane.
The Pharmacy Department was created in 1581 as one of the palace departments. It was responsible for the replenishment of the royal pharmacy with medicines and supervising the work of the doctors, who were invited to the court of Ivan the Terrible. The department was formed on the basis of the palace department during the reign of Boris Godunov. At that time, Russian and foreign doctors and pharmacists, who had previously taken care only of the tsar, began to treat the courtiers and the army as well.
During the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, the Pharmacy Department was abolished, but in 1620, Mikhail Romanov restored the department as the supreme body for the medical administration in Russia. The department invited foreign doctors to treat the Russian sovereign, supervised pharmacies and medicinal gardens, oversaw the collection and cultivation of medicinal plants. Besides, the Pharmacy Department was in charge of assigning doctors to the troops and setting their salaries, organizing field pharmacies, and purchasing rare medicines and medical equipment overseas. They also carried out the certification of doctors and pharmacists, and resolved disputes between employees.
In 1654, the first medical school was created at the Pharmacy Department to train Russian doctors. Thirty Streltsy (infantry soldiers equipped with firearms, ‘shooters’ in Russian) and their children were assigned to foreign doctors, who, with the help of translators, taught them medicine. Four years later, the first doctors graduated from the school. Everyone, who completed their studies and received a doctor title, were assigned to army regiments or allowed to work in the Pharmacy Department. Thus, the government made an attempt to establish a state system of medical education in the country. However, the attempt was not very successful: in 1681, the list of the Pharmacy Department contained only 21 Russian doctors.
