Dutch cultural heritage of Fredrik Ruijsch and Herman Boerhaave in the Military Medical Academy named after S. M. Kirov

Abstract

During historical research into the Russian physician Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (1810–1881) and his relation to Dutch scientists in shaping Russian medical science, access was allowed to the first author of this manuscript to the fundamental library of the Military Medical Academy named S. M. Kirov. The library is one of the oldest libraries in Russia and was founded by Pavel Zakharyevich Condoidi, a pupil of the Dutch scientist Herman Boerhaave. Condoidi succeeded the oldest nephew of Herman Boerhaave, Herman Kaau-Boerhaave after his death as director of the Russian Meditsinskaya Kantselyariya (Ministry of Healthcare). At this site, the extensive library and personal notes of Hermann Boerhaave and his nephews are kept. Later on, it appeared that the same Academy also had a collection of artefacts that are attributed to the famous anatomist Frederik Ruijsch. These artefacts were acquired during the first visit of Peter the Great to the Netherlands. To understand how these artefacts and archive of Boerhaave had become part of the Academy’s collection, we delved into the common medical history of Russia and the Netherlands. In this manuscript, we will lift a tip of the veil regarding the archives of Herman Boerhaave and the “small” anatomical and zoological collections of Fredrik Ruijsch.