Po co historia medycyny? Życie i dziedzictwo Profesora Zbigniewa Domosławskiego

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WHY THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE? THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF PROFESSOR ZBIGNIEW DOMOSŁAWSKI

This article presents the life and scholarly achievements of Professor Zbigniew Domosławski (1922–2025), an eminent Polish physician, medical historian, and philosopher of medicine who served Polish medicine for over 70 years. Professor Domosławski was a student of three distinguished masters: Professors Witold Ziembicki, Zdzisław Wiktor, and Ludwik Hirszfeld, who shaped his understanding of medicine as both science and art. His professional activity followed three parallel tracks: as a clinical physician specializing in internal medicine and cardiology, as a historian and philosopher of medicine, and as an academic teacher. From 1988 to 1993, he headed the Department of History of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Wrocław Medical University, where he revived Seminaria MedicoHistorica and conducted lectures shaping the humanistic attitudes of young physicians. In 1994, he received the title of Professor of Medical Sciences from the President of the Republic of Poland. After retirement, in 1998, he co-founded Karkonosze College (later Karkonosze University of Applied Sciences) in Jelenia Góra – one of the first professional higher education institutions in Poland, where until 2016 he educated medical personnel according to his vision of humanitarian medicine. Professor Domosławski’s philosophy was based on the conviction that the history of medicine is essential to fully understand contemporary medical practice. He consistently advocated that a physician must be not only an excellent technician but above all a humanist understanding the patient in their full complexity – biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. His scholarly output includes over 600 publications, including fundamental biographical works on distinguished professors of medicine and books on propaedeutics and history of medicine for medical students and medical personnel. He also published numerous articles addressing issues of medical ethics, patient dignity, and humanism in medicine. As an honorary citizen of Jelenia Góra, he was deeply involved in the development and advancement of the region; his contribution extended far beyond his hospital work. Professor Domosławski was a founder and long-serving member of the Karkonosze Scientific Society. For many years, he regularly contributed articles to “Nowiny Jeleniogórskie”, “Rocznik Jeleniogórski”, and “Duch Gór”, and actively participated in the city’s academic and  cultural life. His philosophy of an active lifestyle, physical exercise and fresh air as medicine was the driving force behind his regular excursions into his beloved Sudety mountains. Together with his family, he belonged to the tourist group “On Sundays, We Are Not at Home” and collected every possible point awarded by the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK) in the Western Sudety. All of this was systematically documented and published in countless popular-science articles promoting Jelenia Góra and the health and wellness attractions of Cieplice Śląskie, Szklarska Poręba, Karpacz, and other places in the region. Professor Zbigniew Domosławski died on September 4, 2025, at the age of 102, leaving a lasting legacy in the form of the Karkonosze University of Applied Sciences and hundreds of students continuing his mission of humanizing medicine.