Historia polskiej alergologii – początki i okres międzywojenny

The year of 2013 is a major milestone for Polish allergology since it marks the 40th anniversary of this specialty and the 30th anniversary of National Supervisory Board of Allergology. This paper presents the beginnings of allergology in Poland as well as highlights its most important achievements during the two decades between WWI and WWII. It describes the significance of Ludwik Hirszfeld's scientific accomplishments, including his work on anaphylaxis, which in 1914 granted him the title of “Privatdozent” at the Hygiene Institute of the University of Zurich, and which could be considered as the first Polish habilitation in allergology. Hirszfeld's friendship with the leading American allergist Arthur Fernandez Coca resulted in a series of lectures on allergy delivered by the latter one in Poland in 1928. The paper also emphasizes Mieczyslaw Wierzuchowski's achievements of peptone treatment of asthma as well as the early works of Mieczyslaw Obtulowicz, the nestor of Polish allergology, including his most significant accomplishment of that period, “About Pollen Rhinitis” (1938). Mieczyslaw Obtulowicz completely dedicated himself to the field of allergology, becoming the first world-class Polish allergist who after WWII fulfilled his ambitious plans and received wide recognition.