The Medical Faculty of Kyiv University, which was reorganized into the Kyiv Medical Institute in 1920, was founded in April 1840. 22 medical students who entered the faculty attended the first lecture on anatomy on September 9, 1841.

Due to the lack of proper premises to house the medical faculty, its opening was scheduled for 1842, when the construction of the main university building was supposed to be completed. However, the need for doctors, especially in connection with the widespread epidemics in the country, was so great that Minister Uvarov, in December 1840, proposed to the administration of Kyiv University to open the 1st year of the medical faculty at the beginning of the 1841/42 academic year in order to change the previous decree.

The term of study at the medical faculty was 5 years, while at all other faculties it was 4 years.

According to the statute of 1842, exclusively assigned for the Kyiv University, the Medical Faculty was to include the following departments: 1) physiological anatomy with micrography; 2) physiology of a healthy person; 3) physiology of a sick person, or pathological physiology with pathological anatomy; 4) general therapy and “medical chemistry” with the necessary instructions on toxicology 5) operative surgery with a surgical clinic; 6) theoretical surgery with ophthalmology; 7) a full course of private therapy; 8) a therapeutic clinic with semiotics; 9) theoretical and practical obstetrics, obstetric clinic; 10) state medical studies, which included: a) forensic medicine; b) medical police with hygiene; c) medical law, i.e. a brief overview of the medical practice, the procedure of medical care, as well as information on civil service and legislation to the extent necessary for a doctor; d) veterinary police with epizootic diseases. These departments were to be replaced gradually, while senior courses were organized at the medical faculty.

The Medical Faculty was given a part of the laboratory property of the Vienna Medical and Surgical Academy, which had been closed by the tsarist government shortly before the establishment of the faculty. Due to the fact that most of the academy’s professors and lecturers were Poles, only few of them were able to work at the medical faculty of Kyiv University.

The first graduation took place in May 1845. Three people graduated from the Medical Faculty of Kyiv University with the title of doctor.

As early as its foundation, the faculty was to play an important role in the system of medical education in Russia and become a leading centre for other medical faculties in southern Russia.

The successes of the Kyiv University Faculty of Medicine are largely due to the fact that its development, as well as the birth of the faculty, is associated with the name of Pyrohov. In his “Diary of an Old Doctor,” Pyrohov, speaking about his activities as a member of the Ministry of Education’s commission, said: “All affairs and even elections of medical faculties of all Russian universities passed through our hands. Especially the newly established medical faculty of Kyiv University at that time was almost entirely established and elected in our Commission.”

Pyrohov’s students and successors were the first professors of the faculty – V.O.Karavaev, M.I.Kozlov, O.P.Walter.

V.O.Karavaev’s becoming a scientist and skilful surgeon was under the direct influence of M.I.Pyrohov, who wrote: “I can truly consider him one of my scientific pupils: I guided his steps in the field of surgery, informed him of the direction I had already chosen in the study of surgery”.

Professor of Anatomy M.I. Kozlov, while in Derpth, listened to the wonderful lectures of M.I.Pyrohov, and it was under his influence that M.I. Kozlov’s scientific beliefs about anatomy were formed. M.I. Kozlov’s great erudition gave him the opportunity to teach a course on the history of medicine, which was also to some extent influenced by his teacher, who paid much attention to the history of medical studies. The genius of Pyrohov, who embraced the entire rich heritage of the past, longed for the future, sought new scientific facts that could enrich medicine and indicate the ways of its further development. This could not but influence the activities of his students.

The gradual development of Pyrohov’s ideas at the Faculty of Medicine can also be traced to the activities of Kozlov’s successor at the Department of Anatomy, Professor O.P.Walter.

Attending the lectures of Mykola Pyrohov and working in the clinic headed by him, young O.P. Walter became an ardent supporter of his teacher, trying to imitate him to the best of his ability in the methodology of cognition the scientific truths based on a solid foundation of established facts, rejecting any unverified conclusions. The fact that O.P. Walter followed Pyrohov’s ideas is reflected in his words: “Probably, no one will reproach me for following Pyrohov in any way, wherever it was possible to do so…”

On the initiative of O. P. Walter, an anatomical theatre was built on Funduklievska Street (now B.Khmelnytskoho Street), by the design of the famous architect O. V.Beretti, and it was one of the best anatomical theaters of that time not only in Russia but also in the world. V. O.Betz called it a “palace of science.”

Together with V.O.Karavayev and M.I.Kozlov, O.P.Walter was the founder of those advanced ideas that later gave a generous reward at the School of Medicine of Kyiv University.

The scientists of the School of Medicine of Kyiv University began to work on the development of acute problems of battlefield surgery under the influence of M.I.Pyrohov.

During the Crimean War, Kyiv surgeon H.Y.Hübbenet and a group of students of the Kyiv University Medical Faculty worked alongside Pyrohov in the besieged Sevastopol. Kyiv surgeons S.P.Kolomnin, O.S.Yatsenko and others worked in the active army during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).

In the early 60s of the XIX century, an outstanding Ukrainian physician Y. K.Shymanovskyi arrived at Kyiv University at the invitation of M. I.Pyrohov. Pyrohov had a significant influence on Shymanovskyi’s activities in the field of surgery. His interest in osteoplasty, as well as his achievements in the development and improvement of various osteoplastic methods are inextricably linked to Pyrohov’s work in this field. At the personal request of Mykola Pyrohov, Shymanovskyi wrote explanations to his classic work “Surgical Anatomy of Arterial Trunks and Fascia”, as well as revised and supplemented its illustrations.

For some time, the Department of Theoretical Surgery with the Hospital Surgical Clinic of Kyiv University was headed by the prominent Russian surgeon M.V.Sklifosovskyi, who was also recommended for this position by M.I.Pyrohov.

For many years, Pyrohov’s recommendation of candidates for the positions of heads of departments at Kyiv University was a kind of tradition, one of the manifestations of M.I.Pyrohov’s long-term influence on the development of the Faculty of Medicine at Kyiv University. The prominent Kyiv surgeons M.M.Volkovych and A.P.Krymov were the ardent followers of M.I.Pyrohov.

Recognition of Pyrohov’s great merits in the establishment and development of Kyiv University and, first of all, its Faculty of Medicine, is shown by his election as an honorary member of the University (20 April 1855).

M.I.Pyrohov had a direct influence on the development of the Faculty of Medicine when he was a curator of the Kyiv educational district (1858-1861).

Paying considerable attention to the education of students, Pyrohov simultaneously took care of their daily needs. He was actively involved in organising the first student classes at Kyiv University to provide financial assistance to students. Pyrohov also contributed to the foundation of the student library and lecture theatre. Before leaving Kyiv, the students asked Pirogov to present his photo portrait to the lecture theatre, on which he wrote the following inscription: “I love and respect youth. Because I remember mine. Pyrohov, 1861, 13 April, Kyiv”.

The Oleksandrivska City Hospital was opened in 1875 and became the home base for a number of clinics of the Faculty of Medicine.

The same year, the building for the Department of General Pathology and Histology (now Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street) was built, and 10 years later, the building of the Faculty Therapeutic and Surgical Clinics (now 17 Taras Shevchenko Boulevard).

During this period, a number of new departments were established at the Faculty of Medicine: operative surgery, nervous diseases, physiological chemistry, paediatrics, surgical pathology, etc. The Faculty of Medicine became the largest faculty at Kyiv University. In 1885, 986 students studied here.

In the 60s – 80s of the XIX century, the teaching staff of the faculty was replenished with a number of prominent scientists, including V.O.Betz, V.T.Pokrovskyi, P.I.Peremezhko, V.B.Tomsa, M.V.Sklifosovskyi, V.A.Subbotin, M.A.Khrzhonshchevskyi, G.M.Minh, A.V.Ivanov and others.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a number of departments were headed by great scientists – M.I.Stukovenkov, V.V.Pidvysotskyi, V.E.Chernov, O.D.Pavlovskyi, S.M.Reformatskyi, M.M.Volkovych, V.P.Obraztsov, F.G.Yanovskyi, V.K.Vysokovych, M.M.Dieterichs, K.E.Dobrovolskyi, A.P.Krymov, O.V.Korchak-Chepurkivskyi, V.Y.Chagovets.

A significant contribution to the study of microscopic anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system was made by Ukrainian anatomist and histologist V.O.Betz. His classic work “Anatomy of the Brain Surface” was the beginning of the modern doctrine of the cellular structure of the cerebral cortex. V.O.Betz’s studies of the structure of the adrenal glands, bone development and growth, and clinical diagnostics were also of great importance.

An outstanding pathologist and epidemiologist G.M.Minch, whose research, sometimes risking his life, contributed a lot to the aetiology and pathogenesis of a number of infectious diseases.

The works of the founder of the Kyiv school of pathologists V.V.Pidvysotskyi on the microscopic structure of the pancreas, the process of regeneration, problems of general pathology, infection and immunity, aetiology of malignant tumours, endocrinology, etc. are widely known. The textbook “Fundamentals of General Pathology” written by him in Kyiv has gone through 20 editions and has been translated into 17 languages.

D.K.Zabolotnyi, a student of V.V.Pidvysotskyi and a prominent epidemiologist, noted that the Kyiv period was the most fruitful period of his life from a scientific point of view.

Professor M.A.Khrzhonshchevskyi became one of the founders of national histophysiology and public health education. He proposed the method of physiological injection, which has not lost its significance to this day, and created valuable works on the structure and function of blood and lymphatic vessels, kidneys, liver, etc.

One of Botkin’s first students, Professor V.T.Pokrovsky, successfully developed his ideas in Kyiv. The founder of the department, Professor V.A.Subbotin, made a significant contribution to the development of hygiene, while Professor V.E.Chernov – to the field of pediatrics.

The classic work of Professor P.I.Peremezhko “On the Division of Animal Cells” brought its author universal recognition and respect in the scientific world.

Professor V.K.Vysokovych, one of the most prominent pathologists and bacteriologists of his time, was also very popular.

Among the talented innovators were the famous surgeon M.M.Volkovych, one of the founders of electrophysiology V.Y.Chahovets, the founders of the Kyiv therapeutic school V.P.Obraztsov, F.G.Yanovskyi and others.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Faculty of Medicine became more important as a centre that united creative practitioners from Kyiv, Kyiv province and other provinces of the South-Western region. A number of scientific associations were formed at the faculty, which included both professors and practitioners.

The Society of Kyiv Doctors was organised in 1840 and was invariably headed by the professors of the School of Medicine since 1849. In 1869, most of the professors of the faculty, along with professors from other faculties, took part in the foundation of the University Society of Naturalists. On the initiative of medical student A.Kysil, a future prominent national pediatrician, a student scientific society “Clinical Society of Medical Students” was organized in 1881. In 1896, the Physical-Medical Society was established at Kyiv University. Professor M.I.Stukovenkov was its first chairman.

The faculty organized a number of clinicians’ associations: the Scientific Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (1885), the Psychiatric Society (1897), the Dermatological and Syphilidological Societies (1900). The “Proceedings”, “Notes” and other publications of these societies were of considerable scientific value.

The professors of the School of Medicine considered it their duty to promote medical knowledge and improve the medical culture of the population of Kyiv and Ukraine. Professor M.A.Khrzhonshchevskyi headed the commission of medical public readings established in 1886 for many years.

In March 1920, the Institute of Public Health was established in Kyiv by order No. 111 of the Kyiv Gubernational Education Committee.  It united the Medical Faculty of Kyiv University with the Medical Faculty of the Ukrainian State University and the Women’s Medical Institute.

13, T. Shevchenko blvd.

Kyiv, 01601

Phone +38 (044) 234-92-76

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Address of admission commission:
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