Jubileusz „Medycyny Nowożytnej”

In 1922 appeared the first, proof copy of a magazine which two years later was titled “Modern Medicine. Studies on the history of medicine”. The idea to create a new periodical was born among the historians of science, who focused their scientific interest on the topics of medicine’s past. The major purpose was to make a thorough revision of methodological views that usually did not go beyond the positivist or Marxist model. They aspired to some kind of “opening up” to the content present in philosophy and the history of science, including in particular epistemological theories of Ludwik Fleck, Thomas Kuhn or Michael Foucault. Consistent references were made to the experiences and findings of cultural anthropology, psychology, sociology and history of arts, highlighting the problems which in national medical historiography had been previously rarely, if ever, present. “Classical” form and content of works published in the magazine was not excluded, though, since the purpose of the editorial staff was not so much to fight against the traditional model of the history of medicine as its enrichment and gradual transformation in the spirit of contemporary needs. The aim of this article is to present as completely as possible – both the content of “Modern Medicine” and the achievements of people contributing to the magazine for the past twenty years of its existence. It is also an attempt to evaluate to what extent the guidelines set two decades ago have been realized in practice.