Child health in Istanbul: Dr. G.B. Violi and his monthly La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye’de Emraz­ı Etfal (1909­1914)

Year 2004, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 61 - 101, 01.06.2004

Gülten Dinç Şeref Etker

Abstract

Dr. Giovanni Battisa Violi (Modena 1849–İstanbul 1928), who practiced  pediatrics  in Turkey for more than fifty years, was the founder of the first vaccine institute (Etablissement  Vaccinogène, 1881), as  well as  the first children’s hospital (l’Hôpital Saint­Georges pour les Enfants Malades, 1895) in  the Ottoman Empire. Dr. Violi established a new children’s hospital in Istanbul  in 1905  (l’Hôpital  International  des  Enfants à Chichli), and  published  a monthly journal for child health (consisting of two separate parts in French and  Turkish) entitled: La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye’de Emraz­i Etfal between  1909 and 1914.

The periodical edited by Dr. Violi displayed  an international editorial  board of renowned pediatricians  from Europe (Ausset, Baginsky, Bokay, Escherich, Fischl, Hutinel, Monti, and others), and prominent local physicians  from different  communities. The journal aimed at  promoting state­of­the­art  knowledge in child health, addressing both professionals and parents. Another equally important  objective of La Pédiatrie  en  Turquie  /  Türkiye’de Emraz­i  Etfal  was  to publicise the humanitarian work accomplished in the children’s  hospital under Dr. Violi’s direction. The journal included health and mortality  statistics  issued by the Medical Office (Conseil de Santé) for the Ottoman  capital, a world review of the pediatric literature, notes on therapeutics, medical  and child care consultations  with mothers, as  well as articles  on clinical  research, some of them being of historical significance.

The publication of La Pédiatrie  en  Turquie  / Türkiye’de Emraz­i  Etfal  was  interrupted by international political events in 1911, and the enterprise came to an end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Extensive research  conducted to­date has  revealed that  a complete collection is  not  available in  libraries. The table of contents of the collated copies has been appended for this  reason. Also noteworthy  is  the fact  that  the publication of this  pioneering  journal (in French and Turkish) came much earlier than English periodicals in  pediatric medicine. 

Keywords

G.B.Violi, Turkey, pediatrics, children’s hospital, medical journal, vaccination, Italy

Türkiye Çocuk Hekimliğinin İlk Dergisi: La Pédiatrıe En Turquie / Türkiye'de Emraz-ı Etfal

Abstract

Dr. Giovanni Battisa Violi (Modena 1849–İstanbul 1928), who practiced 
pediatrics  in Turkey for more than fifty years, was the founder of the first
vaccine institute (Etablissement  Vaccinogène, 1881), as  well as  the first
children’s hospital (l’Hôpital Saint­Georges pour les Enfants Malades, 1895) in 
the Ottoman Empire. Dr. Violi established a new children’s hospital in Istanbul 
in 1905  (l’Hôpital  International  des  Enfants à Chichli), and  published  a
monthly journal for child health (consisting of two separate parts in French and 
Turkish) entitled: La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye’de Emraz­i Etfal between 
1909 and 1914.

The periodical edited by Dr. Violi displayed  an international editorial 
board of renowned pediatricians  from Europe (Ausset, Baginsky, Bokay, Escherich, Fischl, Hutinel, Monti, and others), and prominent local physicians 
from different  communities. The journal aimed at  promoting state­of­the­art 
knowledge in child health, addressing both professionals and parents. Another
equally important  objective of La Pédiatrie  en  Turquie  /  Türkiye’de Emraz­i 
Etfal  was  to publicise the humanitarian work accomplished in the children’s 
hospital under Dr. Violi’s direction. The journal included health and mortality 
statistics  issued by the Medical Office (Conseil de Santé) for the Ottoman 
capital, a world review of the pediatric literature, notes on therapeutics, medical 
and child care consultations  with mothers, as  well as articles  on clinical 
research, some of them being of historical significance.

The publication of La Pédiatrie  en  Turquie  / Türkiye’de Emraz­i  Etfal 
was  interrupted by international political events in 1911, and the enterprise
came to an end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Extensive research 
conducted to­date has  revealed that  a complete collection is  not  available in 
libraries. The table of contents of the collated copies has been appended for this 
reason. Also noteworthy  is  the fact  that  the publication of this  pioneering 
journal (in French and Turkish) came much earlier than English periodicals in 
pediatric medicine. 

Keywords

G.B. Violi, Türkiye, çocuk hekimliği, pediatri, çocuk hastanesi, tıp dergisi, aşılama, İtalya

References

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