Abstract
In Croatia, hospitals where patients with diseases of the locomotor system were cared for date from more than 100 years ago. However, we consider the beginning of orthopaedics in Croatia to be the year 1908 when Božidar Špišić (1879 - 1957) founded the first Orthopaedic Institute in Zagreb. In 1917, the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb was founded, and when the first students were in their fifth year of studies, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery was established on December 15, 1922, and Božidar Špišić became an Assistant Professor. From that date until today, Orthopaedics has been an independent department within the School of Medicine. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery was primarily established for the education of medical students. Another important activity of the Department was the training of orthopaedic surgeons and specialists in overlapping fields with orthopaedics. In 1973, the department made a program of postgraduate studies in orthopaedics. The department also participated in postgraduate studies of other professions overlapping with orthopaedics and held numerous post-graduate courses and continuous medical education for doctors. Also, the department organised both domestic and international meetings, symposia, and congresses. Within the scientific post-graduate and doctoral studies, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery members are lecturers in many courses. This article presents the work and development of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the first 100 years of orthopaedics education at the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb and clinical work as a part of the University Hospital Centre Zagreb. It is a presentation of time periods under nine heads of the department, starting from Professor Božidar Špišić all to the current head Professor Domagoj Delimar.