Veterinary Medicine

VETERINARY MEDICINE [from Latin veterinarius, or veterinus, according to some (Georges), shortened from vehiterinus derived from vehere- to transport (referring to working animals); according to another opinion (Lenglet), it comes from Celtic words vee- livestock, teeren- to be sick, and aerts- physician and was Latinized by the Romans]. The word has a double meaning: on the one hand, it denotes the science whose subject is the diseases of animals and encompasses the same disciplines as human medicine—anatomy, physiology, pathology, biological chemistry, pharmacology, therapy, bacteriology, epizootiology, zoohygiene, eugenics, etc.; on the other hand, it is used in the sense of the organization of the practical application of this science in the country. Veterinary medicine grew from the same roots as medicine. If initially the treatment of people and animals was carried out by individuals (still in the Middle Ages in Europe animals were treated mainly by shepherds and blacksmiths) without any scientific knowledge (except for experience acquired by them personally or their ancestors), then gradually healing passed into the hands of special castes, priests (even in modern times shamanism has not been eradicated among peoples not provided with qualified medical assistance). In most ancient countries, in China, Persia, Greece, the treatment of people and animals was carried out by the same persons; but in ancient India, Egypt, Rome, differentiation was quite early marked; thus, in Roman troops by the beginning of the Christian era there already existed special veterinary hospitals. But this differentiation occurred exclusively due to external practical conditions, scientifically veterinary medicine and medicine developed inseparably. The great ancient scientists Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, Celsus drew their knowledge no less (if not more) from the study of animal nature as from that of humans. Along with this, it is true, there are found in agricultural works of Roman writers Cato, Varro, Columella chapters devoted only to veterinary questions. At the beginning of the 4th century AD, works of Aspiritus, a Byzantine veterinarian in the troops of Constantine the Great, devoted to veterinary medicine appeared, and approximately 100 years later "4 books on veterinary art" by Vegetius Renatus. In the 10th century, by order of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, all surviving works on veterinary medicine were collected and published under the name "Hippiatrica" (from Greek hippos- horse and iatros- physician). After this, a long period of decline in biological sciences in general followed. Veterinary medicine was not separated from human medicine; only a few works, and those not written by physicians, had a special relation to veterinary medicine [thus, the book of Jordanus Rufus (Iordanus Rufus), master of the stud farm of Frederick II: "On the Medicine of Horses" (1250) and of Senator Ruini of Bologna: "Anatomy of the Horse" (1590)]. In the second half of the 18th century, differentiation began again. Individual outstanding physicians, realizing the need for persons specially trained for the treatment of animals and, mainly, for the struggle with epizooties devastating Europe, dedicated themselves to the study of veterinary medicine and the creation of special schools for it; among them, first place must be given to Bourgelat and Lafosse in France, Kersting in Germany, Abildgaard and Viborg in Denmark. The first such school was founded in Lyon (1762), the second in Alfort near Paris (1765), the third in Copenhagen (1773), and then in Vienna (1777), Hanover (1778), Dresden (1780), etc. in all European countries. Gradually veterinary schools became equal (both in the volume of subjects and in the training of students) with medical faculties; at present they all represent higher educational institutions, being at the same time centers of scientific research in the field of veterinary medicine. Veterinary medicine, as a state organization, pursues a threefold purpose: 1) the struggle with epizooties and ensuring the population with medical assistance for domestic animals; 2) raising the commercial value of animal products; 3) protecting human health from diseases that can be transmitted to them from animals either directly or through food products and animal raw materials. The rudiments of such a state organization of veterinary medicine date back to the 18th century, when European countries, for economic reasons, were forced to adopt systematic measures against epizooties. Initially veterinary medicine was subordinate to medical administration bodies; only very gradually, over more than a century, it managed to emancipate itself in most states and occupy a more or less independent position under one of the ministries—of internal affairs or agriculture (partly military). Veterinary legislation also developed slowly and gradually in all countries. As for the development and state of veterinary medicine in our country, two sharply different periods must be considered separately—pre-revolutionary Russia and the modern Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The fundamental change in the state structure naturally gave veterinary medicine a completely different organization corresponding to the principles of Soviet construction, and at the same time provided a new basis for institutions cultivating veterinary medicine as a science freely developing and, at the same time, closely connected with the economic and sanitary interests of the country. The first traces of the awakening of government interest in veterinary questions date back to 1650, when a royal decree "on precautions against cattle plague and protection of people from diseases" was issued. Apparently, by this time cattle breeding in Russia began to acquire, besides local agricultural significance, also a certain trade-industrial character and required, in connection with the increasing movement of both livestock itself and animal products and raw materials, a certain sanitary supervision, which was entrusted to the administrative and medical personnel. By the beginning of the 19th century, the need for persons with special veterinary training became so obvious to the government that it began to establish the first veterinary educational institutions (see below). However, qualified veterinarians remained only in an executive role. In this respect, almost nothing changed when in 1868 in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as part of the Medical Department, a "Veterinary Division" was created, directly subordinate to the latter. Despite this legal deficiency, veterinarians, especially after the reform of higher veterinary education in 1873, performed enormous work. The raging epizooty of rinderpest with its heavy economic consequences (which served as the main stimulus for the tsarist government to develop veterinary affairs in the empire) was pushed out of European Russia in 1892. As the available veterinary forces were freed from the struggle with rinderpest, they were directed to work on other epizooties; zemstvos (local self-governments) began to use veterinarians, besides for epizootics, also for sanitary-medical and zootechnical functions. With the introduction in 1892 of the urban charter, another branch emerged—slaughterhouse veterinary medicine. Meanwhile, the military department limited the activity of veterinarians attached to it, according to its special needs; the same was done by state stud farming. The development of veterinary medicine in Russia did not proceed according to a general state plan, but as various tasks arose, to the fulfillment of which the ruling circles were forced by economic, departmental and other considerations. As a result, instead of a unified veterinary medicine, by the time of the imperialist war, government, zemstvo, urban, military, and stud-farming veterinary medicine had developed. Such departmental discord could not but adversely affect the organization of veterinary affairs as a whole. This harm was only partially neutralized by the following three factors: 1) Veterinary medicine emancipated itself from medicine; in 1901 in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, instead of the Veterinary Division of the Medical Department, independent Veterinary Administration and Veterinary Committee were formed (after which a similar liberation of veterinary medicine occurred in zemstvos and cities); only in the military department the separation of the Veterinary Administration from the Medical Department had to wait until 1910; 2) zemstvo veterinary medicine introduced, despite all obstacles from the government, an element of public activity into its work; 3) finally, three all-Russian congresses of veterinarians (in 1903, 1909 and 1912) also had their regulating influence both organizationally and scientifically. Soviet veterinary medicine was born under extremely difficult conditions. Rural agriculture ruined to its roots, civil war, the flooding of the entire country with rinderpest and other epizooties, the disunity of center and periphery—some features of the background on which the new veterinary construction began. Earlier than anywhere else, veterinary organization was restored on the fronts, managed and guided by the Main Military-Veterinary Committee (consisting of 7 elected persons), which subsequently carried out a series of transformations. The surviving civilian veterinary forces and institutions in the localities organized their centers in different ways: sometimes at land organs, sometimes at health organs, sometimes along the lines of the NKVD, sometimes as part of associations along the lines of trade unions.

Only on August 6, 1918, was a circular issued on the organization of provincial, county, and city veterinary departments at the corresponding councils as independent parts of local administration. In the center, the former Veterinary Administration was transformed into the Central Veterinary Department of the NKVD, but at the end of 1919, a decree was issued on the unification of all V. in the People's Commissariat of Agriculture. As a result, all V. in the RSFSR was united in the Veterinary Administration of the NKZem and its local bodies—veterinary departments. On the same model, veterinary affairs were also organized in other union republics. The only exceptions are higher veterinary education, subordinate to the NKPro, and military veterinary affairs, headed by the Main Military Veterinary Administration at the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs. Since the end of 1927, a Committee on Veterinary Affairs has been established under the Council of Labor and Defense for the purpose of unifying and directing V. throughout the Union. The fundamental difference between pre- and post-revolutionary V. lies in the fact that the latter, having taken its proper place in the general state structure, at the same time takes root in the broad masses of the population, whose active participation alone can ensure full success in fulfilling its economic, sanitary, and scientific tasks. At present, in each republic, the Veterinary Administration stands at the head of veterinary affairs under the NKZems, whose scope of authority includes general guidance, organization, and control of veterinary measures in the republic, including the implementation of veterinary-sanitary supervision along adjacent state borders. At regional, provincial, and county land administrations, there are veterinary departments: their scope of authority includes the same functions as the Veterinary Administrations, but only within the territory they serve, including veterinary-sanitary supervision in the slaughterhouse industry, in establishments for processing animal products, and on transportation. At district and county land administrations, there is one district and one county veterinarian each. Local veterinary work is carried out by area veterinarians. In 1925/26, there were 4,001 veterinarians and 6,001 veterinary paramedics in the USSR. The veterinary legislation of pre-revolutionary Russia bore a clear imprint of a forced product of administrative bodies, by no means of systematic state creation. On the one hand, the plague of cattle, threatening to ruin agriculture, on the other hand, the impossibility of concluding trade agreements with other states without having a certain regulation of V., forced the government to issue various rules and laws, which primarily concerned measures against the plague in moving commercial and industrial livestock, and secondarily, the fight against the same epizootic in local livestock. The extension of these government decrees to other areas of veterinary affairs was only incidental. To some extent, these legislative defects were smoothed out by the zemstvos and cities by issuing mandatory regulations, thanks to which, despite their variety and inconsistency, the practical results that constitute the undeniable merit of pre-revolutionary V. were achieved. Before the law of 1868, the government issued only regulations (in 1804, 1837, 1845, and 1856) concerning measures against the spread of plague by herded livestock. Their obvious inadequacy led to the issuance of the aforementioned law, which, however, did not improve the situation at all, as it prescribed veterinary inspection of herds only in certain cases, established the killing of plague-stricken animals with the consent of owners and without compensation, and introduced a special herd fee. Some correction was introduced by the law of 1876 on the killing of plague-stricken animals in herds with compensation to owners from the so-called percentage collection on herded livestock. The law of 1882 on the mandatory transport of herds of cattle by rail instead of driving along highways began to be applied only in 1885. As for measures against other contagious diseases besides plague in herds, they were regulated to some extent by circular decrees until the law of 1903 was issued. The same was the case with veterinary legislation concerning local livestock. Not counting the archaic articles of Title XIII of the Code of Laws, published in 1857, there were no corresponding norms until the law of 1879 on the killing of plague-stricken and animals suspected of being plague-stricken was issued. Measures against other epizootics, as well as the remaining branches of veterinary medicine, remained unregulated by general laws for the entire state until 1903. The law approved in this year and codified in 1905 for the first time covers veterinary affairs in their entirety in a more complete form, but, suffering from major defects that caused protests from the zemstvos, it was not put into effect, except in some non-zemstvo districts. Its defects in pre-revolutionary years were constantly supplemented by instructions, rules, and circulars issued by the government. Young Soviet veterinary legislation is based on the Veterinary Statute of the RSFSR, approved by the VTsIK on November 3, 1923. It fully defines the tasks of state V. and the principles of their implementation. The main tasks are: a) organization and implementation of measures for the prevention and cessation of contagious and epizootic diseases of domestic animals; b) organization of veterinary supervision; c) organization of veterinary-medical assistance to the population; d) protection of public health in relation to contagious and parasitic diseases common to humans and animals. As for the ways to implement these tasks, the statute, on the one hand, takes into account the experience of Russian V. before the revolution, and on the other hand, gives new directives corresponding to the importance of Soviet V. as an economic and sanitary factor in the general plan of state construction. In order to implement, clarify, and develop the statute, corresponding instructions and rules of general importance are issued in the center; locally, as the need arises, instructions and rules of a local character are also issued. Professional veterinary movement practically did not exist before the revolution. Attempts in this direction timidly manifested themselves among veterinarians; veterinary paramedics acted more persistently, but there is no need to speak of other groups of workers involved in veterinary affairs. In the first years after the revolution, the movement was rather fragmented. Some veterinary workers sought to create their own union, but the majority joined other unions (Medsantrud, Rabzemles, etc.). By a resolution of the VTsSPS of November 4, 1919, veterinary workers were included in the union Vsemedikosantrud; at present, they form a special veterinary section in this union. Higher veterinary education. The predecessors of veterinarians in Russia in the 18th century were the so-called 'cattle doctors,' who received their education in the primitive schools that emerged at that time for training 'farriers or horse masters skilled in treatment.' Teaching of V. began with the approval in 1805 of the university statute, which provided for the establishment at Moscow, Kharkov, Kazan (and Vilnius) universities at medical departments of special chairs for 'the science of treating cattle diseases, for teaching them to medical students in the extent necessary for any physician.' In 1808, a special school was opened at the St. Petersburg medico-surgical academy, which gradually transformed into a veterinary department. To serve these chairs, as early as 1803, adjunct professor Knigin was sent abroad with 8 students who had graduated from the aforementioned academy, with the aim of preparing to teach veterinary sciences. In Warsaw, from 1816, V. was taught to medical students of the university and students of the Agronomic Institute. The further development of teaching V. followed by replacing the chairs with 'practical veterinary schools' at the university in Kharkov (1839) and in Warsaw (1840) and the founding of a new such school in Dorpat (1848). Subsequently, in 1851, the Kharkov and Dorpat schools were transformed into independent colleges, and in 1873—into veterinary institutes. In 1874, the newly opened Kazan institute was added to them; the Warsaw college became a higher educational institution only in 1889. Teaching of V. in Vilnius and Moscow was abolished in 1840-1842, and in St. Petersburg—in 1883. The remaining 4 veterinary institutes were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education; the university statute of 1863 was in force in them. Persons who passed state examinations after completing a 4-year course at the institute received the title of veterinarian and had the right, after passing special exams, to submit and defend a dissertation to obtain the scientific degree of Master of Veterinary Sciences. At present, there are 9 veterinary institutes in the USSR; of them, the Kharkov and Kazan have remained in their former locations. The Saratov institute was formed from the former Yuryevsky (Dorpat) one after its evacuation in 1916. The Don institute is the former.

Varshavsky, who during the imperialist war was also transferred first to Moscow and then to Novocherkassk. In the first 4 years after the revolution, the Omsk and Leningrad institutes were reopened. The institute founded in Moscow during the same period was in 1924 merged with the Leningrad institute, and in its place in Moscow remained the veterinary faculty at the Zootechnical institute. Then in Ukraine a second veterinary institute was established in Kiev; Belarus founded its institute in Vitebsk; finally, in 1927 a ninth institute was added in Voronezh, transformed from the existing veterinary technical school there. All institutes are under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat for Education. The period of study in them has now been extended to 5 years, of which 4¹/₂ years are devoted to coursework, and ¹/₂ year to the completion of a qualifying work, replacing the previous final examinations. The new curriculum of 1926 differs substantially from previous plans, mainly in two directions: 1) significant clarification and alignment with the current state of scientific knowledge, 2) introduction of subjects that help develop future veterinary physicians as community physicians. Thus, for the first time, the new plan included as special subjects: biological chemistry with the doctrine of colloids, general animal husbandry with zoohygiene and dairy science; meat science with slaughterhouse and refrigeration business; veterinary obstetrics and diseases of young animals with clinic; private pathology and therapy of small animals and birds; veterinary legislation with statistics, animal insurance, and public measures in V.; private bacteriology with the doctrine of preparation of biological vaccines; parasitology and invasive diseases with clinic; political economy, foundations of the economy of the USSR, historical materialism, and the labor movement. At the same time, practical work receives more than half of the time allocated for teaching special and auxiliary disciplines. In addition, students graduating from the institute are required, before submitting their qualifying work, to complete production practice. Secondary veterinary education. In the Kharkov Practical Veterinary School (see above), founded in 1839, students were divided into two categories; while students of the first category had to have the same knowledge upon admission as students admitted to the university and received the title of veterinary physician, students of the second category were only required to be able to read and write in Russian and some knowledge of subjects taught in county schools. From them were formed 'veterinary assistants'. Subsequently, special veterinary paramedic schools with a three-year course were established at veterinary institutes, where special and auxiliary subjects were taught by institute staff according to a simplified program and practical exercises were conducted. Similar schools were established by many zemstvos as well as in some non-zemsky provinces (e.g., in Omsk). Those who completed the full course took examinations at the institute itself or at provincial administrations and acquired the title of veterinary paramedic. Along with these school paramedics, paramedics were also trained at military veterinary hospitals; but 'military' paramedics were, on the whole, less developed and knowledgeable, despite the same period of training, since for admission as apprentices only literacy was required, and all training was conducted by one veterinary physician and concerned only diseases of horses. At present, civil veterinary schools do not exist. A new Military-Veterinary Paramedic School has been established in Leningrad with a 3-year course and an extensive program in veterinary medicine, military, and social subjects. In addition, schools with a 2-year period of study have been organized in military units. Scientific and practical veterinary institutions. In the pre-war period, research work in V. was mainly concentrated in veterinary institutes, which at the same time developed significant scientific and practical activities. At the Kharkov and Dorpat institutes, special bacteriological stations were even established with funds from the Ministry of War. But this was of course insufficient to meet the needs of the entire country in terms of preparing vaccines and serums against infectious animal diseases, conducting analyses and diagnostic research, etc. In 1898, the Veterinary-Bacteriological Laboratory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was founded in Petersburg, which should be mentioned first as the largest institution that developed not only extensive practical activity in the production and distribution of vaccines and other preparations, in conducting diagnostic analyses and expert examinations, in organizing bacteriological courses, but also developed multifaceted scientific research work. In 1918 the laboratory was evacuated to Moscow. In addition, the government established veterinary anti-plague stations in Chita, Zurnabad, and Khunchun, which had the special task of producing anti-plague serum, but at the same time also engaged in scientific research. Almost simultaneously, in all major centers, veterinary-bacteriological laboratories were gradually created with funds from provincial zemstvos, and in smaller points-bacteriological offices. Their total number reached 77 before the imperialist war, the majority being zemsky institutions. Some laboratories not only accomplished very significant production work but also showed great scientific activity. It should also be mentioned that the Epizootological Department of the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Petersburg, in addition to its scientific tasks, was the only institution supplying the entire country with tuberculin for veterinary needs and mallein. At present, veterinary institutes have retained, along with their educational significance, all their previous role as scientific and practical institutions. But among the special institutions serving these purposes, the State Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine occupies the most prominent position. Transformed in 1918 from the aforementioned laboratory after its evacuation to Kuzminki near Moscow, it gradually developed into the largest center of scientific and scientific-practical V. in the Union. The institute consists of 15 departments on its own territory, a bio-chemical department located in the Bach Institute in Moscow and the Institute of Comparative Pathology in Leningrad. Its research activities cover not only veterinary but also related general biological disciplines; at the same time, the institute possesses sufficient structural flexibility to adapt to newly emerging scientific and practical tasks. In addition to its own staff, it also enables attached persons to improve themselves and carry out scientific work. With respect to other scientific and practical institutions, it has an unifying and guiding role. From the former veterinary-bacteriological laboratories, some have been expanded into regional veterinary-bacteriological institutes with research tasks, first and foremost, studying epizootics in their area, then with specific production functions according to assignments from the center, with the obligation to satisfy local diagnostic and other needs. New institutes have also been opened, e.g., the anti-pleuropneumonia institute in Levashovo (Samara province). At many of these institutes, regular courses are organized for the advanced training of veterinary physicians. In addition, there are 36 provincial veterinary laboratories of local significance; some of them also participate in the production of therapeutic or preventive preparations. The military department established to meet its special needs a large Military-Veterinary Microbiological Institute in Leningrad, with extensive scientific and practical tasks and courses for advanced training, and in addition, 11 military-district veterinary laboratories in Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Mogilev, Minsk, Tiflis, Armavir, Novocherkassk, Tashkent, and Novosibirsk.

A. Vladimirov.

Military Veterinary Medicine. History. The first attempts to create a military veterinary organization in Russia date back to the 18th century. In 1715, Peter I issued a decree for the recruitment of "horse orderlies" into regiments. In 1808, a Military Veterinary Department was established at the Medical-Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg, which produced the first graduating class of veterinary physicians in 1813. In 1883, this department was closed due to the presence among its students of a significant number of "politically unreliable persons." The beginning of the 19th century also saw the opening of veterinary treatment institutions - "horse infirmaries," which were renamed veterinary infirmaries in 1869. Subsequently, veterinary orderly schools were established at these institutions. From the 1830s, a veterinary physician was added to the staff of an artillery brigade. In the 1850s, the position of "corps veterinarian" was established, subordinate to the corps medical officer. In 1862, the rights and duties of regimental veterinarians were regulated by law. In the 1870s, military veterinarians were given responsibility for the educational and training of horses. Finally, in 1895, a central apparatus was created to direct military veterinary affairs - the Veterinary Department at the Main Military Medical Administration with the tasks of a) supervising the sanitary condition of horses, b) implementing measures to combat epizootics among army horses, and c) conducting veterinary statistics. In 1902, the military veterinary service was separated from the jurisdiction of district military medical inspectors, and in 1910, from the jurisdiction of the Chief Military Sanitary Inspector. The department was reorganized into the Army Veterinary Administration, directly subordinate to the Minister of War. The apparatus for managing veterinary affairs in the pre-revolutionary Russian army was insignificant, lacking veterinary educational institutions, research establishments, veterinary supply depots, etc. Veterinary supply was not planned in nature, and military units acquired veterinary property through their own efforts using credits issued by the central authority and from surplus funds from economic allocations. Only during the imperialist war were special field veterinary pharmacies formed to supply the front. Before the October Revolution, there was no unified leadership for veterinary service of the front and rear. There was no uniform system for the subordination of front-line veterinary personnel in combat and special service, which hampered leadership. The form and methods of veterinary service to the army in field conditions were extremely imperfect; in particular, no provision was made for the organization of evacuation of sick and wounded animals from battle. The application of scientific methods encountered serious obstacles in the conservatism of the entire military leadership apparatus and in the disregard for the interests of the army and population in favor of the personal gains of large horse breeders. For example, the use of biological methods for diagnosing glanders was prohibited out of fear of revealing a large number of horses reacting to mallein, which were intended for army replacement from private studs. The fight against glanders was limited to capturing only overt, obvious cases of the disease. Contagious diseases progressed in the years preceding the imperialist war, despite the fact that the conditions for keeping horses, in terms of placement and equipment of stables, were improving. Thus, the morbidity rate of contagious pleuro-pneumonia was 1.56% in 1911 and 2.6% in 1913 of the total strength. Losses from glanders were 0.18% in 1911 and 0.21% in 1913 of overtly sick horses. Pre-revolutionary Russia, with the peculiarities of a capitalist state without a national planned economy, naturally did not plan veterinary affairs either, which were not given proper importance in the economy of the country and its defense. The veterinary organization was scattered among many departments. The underestimation of the importance of veterinary service in the army before the imperialist war was also present in the armies of foreign countries. Thus, the German army entered the war with a weak veterinary organization, and only in 1915, under the influence of the widespread development of epizootics, the War Ministry reorganized the veterinary service, creating veterinary leadership organs at the headquarters of fronts, armies, and divisions, as well as a network of veterinary institutions. The veterinary service in the French army was also poorly organized, which lost a huge number of animals during the war (76% of its entire horse strength). The service in the English army was comparatively better organized, where, shortly before the war, a reorganization of the veterinary corps had been carried out. As a result of the underestimation of the role of veterinary service in the army and country, the warring armies suffered enormous losses in animals, and the size of the losses was inversely proportional to the degree of organization of the veterinary service. The German army lost 36% of its horse strength (despite the prevailing fodder crisis), the English 41%, the French 76%, and Russia lost over 30% in just 2¹/₂ years of war. The sad experience of the imperialist war forced almost all armies to subsequently review the organizational forms of military veterinary service. Reorganization of the veterinary service was carried out in the German, French, English, American and other armies. In the Russian army, the beginning of the reorganization of military veterinary affairs was laid only after the February Revolution. Veterinary workers, educated in the conditions of "zemstvo democracy," directed their revolutionary energy against the system of military veterinary organization during the February Revolution. At the head of the administration of military veterinary affairs stood an elected body - the Main Military Veterinary Committee, completing the chain of front, army, corps, and other veterinary committees. The state of veterinary affairs at the time of and during the February Revolution was very difficult, which was to a large extent the result of the lack of coordination between the interests of the rear and the front. Veterinary supervision during the imperialist war was extremely weakened due to the disorderly conscription of veterinary specialists, and veterinary-prophylactic measures were not carried out. Epizootics became widespread. According to data from the Veterinary Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the morbidity rate of glanders for the 5-year period 1908-12 was 6 per 10,000. During the war, this ratio changed sharply and in 1916 was already determined as 64 per 10,000, i.e., glanders in horses increased more than 10 times. The number of glandered horses increased even more in the military horse reserves, where 144 per 10,000 were registered in 1916. These figures did not fully reflect the actual situation, as they applied only to those military units that had veterinary supervision; moreover, the imperfect research methods used in the old army could not provide a comprehensive picture of the actual infection with glanders. The same must be said regarding the incidence of mange, which in the tsar's army spread not only among horses, mules, and camels serving in transport, but also among herded and food supply livestock. Mange from sick animals was also transmitted to soldiers. According to data from the Veterinary Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the 5-year period 1908-12, the incidence of mange in horses in European Russia was 18 per 10,000, but in the first 1¹/₂ years of the war, the incidence of mange in animals in the army rose on the Northern Front to 107, on the Western Front to 212, on the Southwestern Front to 124, and on the Caucasian Front to 32, which on average constituted 140 horses per 10,000 for the entire army. With each year of the war, the spread of mange increased. According to the Northern Front alone, on January 1, 1917, there were officially 551 sick horses per 10,000, i.e., in one year of war, mange increased 5 times. Pandemic pleuro-pneumonia of cattle, foot-and-mouth disease, and other diseases spread widely both in the army and in the front-line zone. On the Northern Front, from April 1915 to January 1916, out of a total of 383,300 head of cattle, 24,632 heads (6.42%) died from foot-and-mouth disease. On the Western Front in 1916, out of 413,144 heads of large cattle, 90,774 heads (22%) became ill; of this number, 1,751 heads (2%) died, and 29,141 (32%) were slaughtered for meat as terminally ill. Of the total number of sick among large cattle, 43% were from foot-and-mouth disease and 27% from pandemic pleuro-pneumonia. With the spontaneous demobilization of the army, favorable conditions were created for the spread of epizootics throughout the country. Thus, the very source of replenishing the Red Army with horses was heavily infected. The most widespread diseases in the RKKA were glanders and mange. In 1920, 12,819 horses sick with glanders were slaughtered, and in 1921, 25,030. A source of the spread of contagious diseases among the horse strength of the RKKA was also horses captured from the White armies, whose veterinary-sanitary condition was extremely unsatisfactory. These difficulties were aggravated by the acute shortage of veterinary personnel in the country, as well as the lack of veterinary supplies, interruptions in fodder supply, etc.

The severe sanitary-veterinary condition of the Soviet state and the responsible tasks facing the military-veterinary service of the Red Army served as a stimulus for a series of major reorganizations of the military-veterinary apparatus. In May 1918, the Main Military-Veterinary Committee relinquished its powers, transferring them to the collegium of the Veterinary Administration of the army, which was then transformed into the Main Military-Veterinary Administration. In provincial cities, at military commissariats, veterinary units were created; their establishment was necessitated by the need for veterinary service of military units and institutions under the jurisdiction of provincial and district military commissariats, as well as the continuously forming new military units at that time. In parallel, the organization of the veterinary service of the front, armies, divisions, regiments, etc., was underway. From the three surviving field veterinary pharmacies, the Central Military-Veterinary Pharmacy Warehouse was organized. For the proper fight against glanders and in connection with the need for widespread use of mallein, the Central Military-Veterinary Bacteriological Laboratory was established. In the largest garrisons, garrison veterinary hospitals, disinfection detachments, and garrison training smithies were organized. The veterinary personnel in military units were assigned a new function of veterinary education for the commanding and rank-and-file personnel of the Red Army. Initially, the Main Military-Veterinary Administration was subordinate to the Central Supply Administration, which resulted from the incorrect interpretation of the functions of the Main Military-Veterinary Administration as a supplying body of the army, but from 1920 it was placed under the direct subordination of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. With the end of the Civil War and the beginning of peaceful construction, Veterinary Medicine was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the RSFSR for the purpose of unifying all civil and military Veterinary Medicine (decree of the Council of Labor and Defense of May 25, 1921). Subsequently, by legislative act of the Council of People's Commissars and Central Executive Committee of the USSR of August 24, 1924, military Veterinary Medicine was separated from the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture. The relationship between civil and military Veterinary Medicine was formulated by government decree as follows: 'All measures requiring coordinated execution by military and civil veterinary authorities are carried out by the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs by agreement with the People's Commissariats of Agriculture of the union republics. When developing measures, the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs must observe the rights of the People's Commissariats of Agriculture in the field of veterinary medicine, provided for in the provisions on the People's Commissariats of Agriculture and veterinary regulations approved by the Central Executive Committee of the union republics'. Modern organization. As a result of all the reorganizations carried out, military Veterinary Medicine in the Red Army represents an independent branch of service in the army. In its activities, it relies on a network of scientific research, educational, medical, and supply institutions. The functions of supply are entirely concentrated under the jurisdiction of the military-veterinary administration, which, with the development and strengthening of the chemical-pharmaceutical market and industry, made it possible to move to planned supply and accumulation of reserves of veterinary provisions. A distinctive feature of military Veterinary Medicine in the Red Army is that it has a public character, that veterinary-sanitary measures in it are based on the culture, consciousness, and initiative of the Red Army soldier. To the present time, the military-veterinary service has received the following organization. The central military-veterinary body is the Military-Veterinary Administration of the Red Army. Its jurisdiction includes the following issues: a) organization of the veterinary service; b) accounting, distribution, and training of veterinary personnel; c) organization and guidance of measures to protect the health and increase the working capacity of the horse component, as well as other military animals; d) organization of veterinary supervision over the slaughter of food livestock in the army and the quality of meat products; e) organization of veterinary service for horse replacement, preparation of horses, and military department studs; f) organization and guidance of veterinary training of the Red Army and commanding personnel of the Red Army; g) collection and processing of statistical material on the veterinary-sanitary condition of the Red Army; h) supply of troops with items of veterinary provisions; i) drawing up, on the basis of directives of the Red Army Staff, mobilization plans for the deployment and formation of military-veterinary institutions in wartime, etc. Attached to the Military-Veterinary Administration is the Military-Veterinary Committee as a scientific advisory body on all branches of veterinary affairs. At the head of the Military-Veterinary Administration of the Red Army stands its chief, who is directly subordinate to the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and attends meetings of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR with a consultative vote. To coordinate the activities of military and civil veterinary organizations, the head of the administration a) is a member of the presidium of the committee on veterinary affairs under the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR; b) participates in the work of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the RSFSR when discussing veterinary and zootechnical issues; and c) is a member of the Scientific Veterinary Council under the Veterinary Administration of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the RSFSR. The Military-Veterinary Administration of the Red Army, together with the Veterinary Administration of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the RSFSR, publishes the journal 'Practical Veterinary Medicine'. The local organs of the Military-Veterinary Administration are the military-veterinary administrations of districts (armies) and the veterinary unit of the Kazan Regional Military Commissariat, as well as veterinary units of corps, divisions, and separate military units (regiments). The veterinary chiefs of these veterinary organs are directly subordinate to the corresponding command, and along the line of the special veterinary service, to the senior veterinary chief. For the training of specialists of the military-veterinary service (doctors, paramedics, farriery instructors, farriers, smiths), veterinary educational institutions, advanced courses, and training smithies have been established. In the 1925/26 academic year, for the purpose of training military veterinary doctors for the Red Army, a military-veterinary department was opened at the Kazan Veterinary Institute. The number of students is set at 30 people for each course. Students of the military department undergo the full course of studies at the veterinary institute on an equal basis with other students, in addition to a number of special military disciplines. The military-veterinary department exists on the same general basis as the military academies of the Red Army and military departments of other civilian educational institutions. The military-veterinary paramedic school was created in the 1922/23 academic year by reorganizing the school of military-veterinary agitators. The school is designed for 360 people. The duration of study in the school is 3 years. The school prepares senior veterinary paramedics, who belong to the middle commanding staff; in a professional and legal sense, the school is equated to veterinary technical schools of the People's Commissariat of Education. The troop schools for junior veterinary paramedics have as their purpose the training of these paramedics for military units, institutions, and establishments of the Red Army. The schools are maintained at veterinary hospitals of cavalry, artillery (cadre divisions) and heavy artillery regiments, as well as at garrison veterinary hospitals. They are opened in each district by order of the commander of the troops on the recommendation of the chief of the Military-Veterinary Administration of the district. The total duration of study in the schools is 22 months. Advanced courses for higher and senior veterinary personnel were created in 1925 and have as their purpose the replenishment and expansion of knowledge of military-veterinary doctors both in their specialty and in issues of military and military-veterinary service. The duration of study at the courses is 9 months. The number of cadets is set at 70 people. The repeated military-veterinary paramedic courses have as their purpose improvement in special knowledge and expansion of general military and political education of veterinary paramedics. The duration of study at the courses is 10 months. The repeated military-veterinary paramedic courses are part of the military-veterinary paramedic school. In the pre-revolutionary army, retraining of veterinary paramedics was not practiced. In addition to these courses, in the Red Army, as needed, short-term courses are conducted in individual fields. The veterinary-medical institutions of the army include: a) veterinary-paramedic points, b) troop veterinary hospitals, c) garrison veterinary hospitals and garrison veterinary ambulances. Veterinary-paramedic points are established in those units where, according to the establishment, there are no veterinary doctors, but only veterinary paramedics. Troop veterinary hospitals, on the contrary, are established in all military units where, according to the establishment, veterinary doctors are maintained. Troop veterinary hospitals and veterinary-paramedic points have as their purpose providing stationary and outpatient assistance to the horse component and other military animals. Garrison veterinary hospitals have the purpose of providing stationary and outpatient medical assistance to horses a) of military units that do not have veterinary hospitals, and b) of passing military units.

Garrison veterinary hospitals consist of departments: surgical, therapeutic, infectious, scabies (with a gas chamber and bath), glanders (isolation ward), and quarantine, and a pharmacy. Garrison veterinary outpatient clinics exist only in some large garrisons. The scientific research and scientific-practical veterinary institutions of the army include: 1. The Military Veterinary Microbiological Institute, created in 1919 as the Central Microbiological Laboratory with the systematic aim of fighting glanders. Subsequently, as its functions expanded, the Central Microbiological Laboratory was reorganized into the Central Microbiological Station and in 1924 into an institute. 2. The Military Veterinary Chemical Laboratory, opened in 1924 in connection with the development of military chemical affairs and the need to study issues of veterinary support for the army in chemical warfare. 3. District military veterinary laboratories, whose purpose is to carry out diagnostic research on glanders and to provide on-site consultation in this field. As this disease was eliminated, the laboratories significantly expanded their functions, transforming into scientific-practical institutions on which the veterinary personnel of military units can rely in their daily work of providing veterinary support to the army. In addition, some military units have special diagnostic offices. To supply the Red Army with veterinary equipment, there is a network of veterinary-pharmaceutical warehouses with a central warehouse at the head. New forms of organization of military veterinary medicine in the Red Army and methods of work with wide possibilities for implementing veterinary-prophylactic measures have given positive results in protecting the health of military animals, maintaining their working capacity, as well as in protecting the health of the army's human personnel in preventing and stopping infectious diseases common to humans and animals, and in ensuring troops with high-quality meat products. In 1925/26, 0.03% of horses with obvious glanders were destroyed in the Red Army, in 1926/27 - 0.01%, whereas in the pre-revolutionary Russian army in 1913, 0.21% were destroyed. In the strategic cavalry, obviously sick horses were destroyed in 1923/24 - 0.28%, and in 1925/26 already only - 0.06%, in 1926/27 - 0.03%; in the pre-revolutionary Russian cavalry, which also included Cossack troops, in 1913, 0.29% of horses with obvious glanders were destroyed. Major achievements have also been made in the Red Army in the fight against scabies in the horse population. In 1920, 129,271 horses were sick with scabies, in 1921 - 132,469, and in subsequent years there was a sharp decrease in these diseases. In recent years, no cases of scabies have been observed among the horse population of the Red Army. Influenza, which was widespread in the pre-revolutionary army, is almost non-existent in the Red Army. Pleuropneumonia affected 0.06% of horses in 1925/26, in 1926/27 - 0.03%; in 1913 - 0.25%. Rinderpest appeared in the Red Army's food herds in 1919 and was brought in from the areas where Denikin and Wrangel's troops were operating. In 1922, rinderpest was eliminated. The overall result of the movement of infectious diseases in the Red Army, compared to the pre-revolutionary army, is expressed in the following figures: in 1922/23, a total of 26.04% of horses with infectious diseases (including parasitic diseases) were counted in the Red Army, in 1926/27 a total of 3.5% (compared to 4.6% in 1913). No less significant achievements have been made in the field of providing medical assistance. In 1922, the mortality from diseases was 11.15% of all horses that passed through veterinary treatment institutions, and in 1926/27 - 3.35% (in 1913 - 3.44%). The average duration of hospital treatment for a horse was 23.7 days in 1922, and 14.6 days in 1926/27 (in 1913 - 16.2 days). Territorial construction. The territorial-militia system of building the armed forces of the USSR has posed a number of new and complex tasks before the military veterinary service. These tasks basically come down to: a) providing veterinary care for the regular horse population and other military animals of territorial troops, b) providing veterinary care for the variable horse population during different periods of the functioning of territorial units, c) participation in zootechnical measures aimed at breeding in the areas of territorial formations the type of horses necessary for the army, and d) training the variable veterinary personnel of territorial troops in the field of military veterinary service. Since the military veterinary service in territorial units goes far beyond the latter and extends to the areas of their formation, closely contacting the population and the work of veterinary organs of the People's Commissariats of Agriculture, veterinary support for territorial troops is carried out under the conditions of a) complete coordination of military veterinary-sanitary measures with the activities of civilian veterinary organs and b) involvement of civilian veterinary personnel in the development of military veterinary affairs in the units of territorial formations.