History and evolution of western medicine in Thailand.

ABSTRACT

Background: Western medicine entered into the Kingdom of Siam for the first time in Ayutthaya Period. In 1686, Chevalier de Forbin, a French military officer described a surgical operation in which the stomach and intestine of a patient were restored into the abdomen and the surgical wound closed by suturing, without complication. Soon after this the relationship between Thailand and Europe was severed until it was renewed in the Bangkok Period. Thailand’s first hospital was built in the province of Petchaburi in 1878. The first hospital built by the government of Thailand was Siriraj Hospital in 1887; and the Red Cross Society was founded in 1893. King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital was established in 1914. Chulalongkorn University was established with the Faculty of Medicine in 1916. In 1942, the Ministry of Public Health was established to regulate medical services and public health of the people of Thailand. Objective: To introduce the history and development of western medicine in Thailand.