The Initial Stage of Neurosurgery in China: Contributions from Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

Abstract

Modern neurosurgery has been developing worldwide for more than a century, whereas in China, as stated in previous literature, only 7 decades have passed since the development of neurosurgery during the early 1950s after World War II and China's War of Liberation. However, as increasing evidence before the wars from medical records, annual hospital reports, and journal archives emerge, the history of neurosurgery in China, especially the initial stage, needs to be reassessed. The establishment of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) in 1921, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, marked the start of Western medicine in China. Meanwhile, modern neurosurgery started to take root in the nation. Chinese neurosurgeons at PUMCH, Song-Tao Guan, M.D. and Yi-Cheng Zhao, M.D., both of whom graduated from PUMC and received further training abroad, made great contributions to the initial growth of Chinese neurosurgery. Although neurosurgery experienced slow and even stagnant development in China during the wars that took place from 1941-1949, the prewar period from 1921-1940 witnessed substantial improvement in operative skills, bedside education, resident training, and scientific research in neurosurgery at PUMCH, providing indispensable contributions that have allowed Chinese neurosurgery to flourish during the past 7 decades.