85 years of teaching latin in St Petersburg state pediatric medical university (the first 50 years in the history of the department of Latin)

The article outlines the early formative years in the history of the Department of Latin language in the Pediatric Medical Institute and traces the development in approaches to teaching Latin medical terminology, first introduced in 1932. After the abolition of gymnasium education the higher school had to deal with a lack of knowledge of classical languages. At the beginning, teaching Latin as the language of medicine was based on traditional methods of gymnasium education. Archival documents show the subject scope of the department which was in constant search for text material and special means of target training of medical students. Methodological problems of teaching and criteria for evaluation of knowledge were being gradually developed over the years in discussions with teachers at department meetings. The article offers details on the life and achievement of the first head of the department Konstantin P. Avdeev, together with an analysis of his scientific and practical activities. Avdeev’s wide interests and erudition come to the fore in his active work as a lecturer at a number of scientific organizations in Leningrad. Having amassed a unique library of over 7 thousand volumes, he was a famous bibliophile, an expert and a collector of bookplates (ex libris). The depth of his knowledge and a wide range of interests have shaped the values and promoted a creative approach to teaching medical Latin that still remains an important part of teaching the subject to first-year medical students. The article also provides brief information on Nora N. Zabinkova, his successor, whose activity has coincided with qualitative changes in the methods of teaching Latin. These changes were inspired by professor Maxim N. Chernyavsky, the head of the Department of Latin at the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. The Department of Latin in Leningrad Pediatrical Medical Institute was among the few in first introducing and then spreading the new methods of teaching Latin and medical terminology in all medical schools across the country.