The history of pathology in indonesia

Abstract

Prior to World War II lndonesia was occupied by the Dutch, as such medical care was mostly provided by Dutch physicians. The earliest publication of postmortem findings from Indonesia appeared in the late 1620s. In 185 I the first so-called school for Javanese Doctors was established in Jakarta, which later became the STOVIA and 1927 developed into the Medical College, equal to those in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, in 1913 another school was established in Surabaya, called NIAS. The first laboratory, i.e. the Laboratory of Anatomic Pathology and Bacteriology was established in Jakarta in 1888. It was in this laboratory that Eijktman discovered the antineuritic vitamin 81, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize in 1929. In 1906 another Central Laboratory was established in Medan (North Sumatra) by private plantation companies. A Cancer Institute was established in Bandung in 1914. Thus after 1914 there were four centres of Anatomic Pathology, i.e. in Jakarta, Medan, surabaya, and Bandung. During World War II the Japanese occupied Indonesia, and the very few Indonesian pathologists, officially, under the supervision of the Japanese, took over the duties left by the Dutch who were interned. Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945, but the Dutch tried to reoccupy Indonesia and an independence war lasted till 1949. To fulfill the need of pathologists, since the 1950s many young pathologists/residents were sent abroad for training. Nowadays there are 13 cenrres of pathology in Indonesia.