UC Irvine

The Western medical profession's knowledge concerning the development of Soviet medicine during the preceding two decades 1s ~ost meager. This situation may be attributed to scvct;al factors. First, there was a paucity of pertinent material available for study during this period due to the r~tri~tions imposed upon the exchange of sc1ent1fic data between Russia and \'cstcm Nations. In addition, as a result o( the exigencies of war and politics, the . inter· change of competent and interested obse.Vers was reduced to an insignificant number. Furthermore, the lack of Western scientific personnel familiar with the Russian language limited the significance of the few Russian scientific journals which were available. And finally, the deficiencies of Russian medicine evident during the initial years of Soviet rule may have minimized the value of any further exchange.