The National School of Medicine and Pharmacy was founded in 1857 under the guidance of Carol Davila and Nicolae Kretzulescu, establishing formal medical education within Romania. Davila, a physician and pharmacist of Italian ancestry, spent his career professionalizing the country's public health systems and organizing military medical services, leaving a lasting structural legacy on Romanian medicine.
Professional Origins and Education
Born in Parma in 1828, Davila grew up with modest origins and was eventually adopted. He pursued his medical education at the University of Paris, completing his degree in February 1853. Shortly after graduation, he relocated to Romania in March 1853. Beyond his clinical work, he maintained a scholarly focus, publishing the text Syphilis Prophylaxis in the same year he finished his formal schooling.
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Upon settling in Romania, Davila shifted the landscape of national healthcare by organizing the military medical service and implementing administrative structures for public health. He successfully pressured government authorities to mandate official instructions for factory worker healthcare and established regional medical districts. His efforts facilitated the creation of several scientific bodies, including the Medical Society in 1857, the Natural Sciences Society in 1876, and the Red Cross Society in 1876. He further disseminated medical knowledge through the launch of the Medical Register in 1862 and the Medical Gazette in 1865.
War Service and Pharmacological Innovation
During the Independence War, which spanned from 1877 to 1878, Davila directed the Romanian Army's sanitary service. Amidst his various administrative roles, he also engaged in pharmacological research. He developed a treatment for cholera known as the Davila tincture, an opioid-based oral solution intended to manage the symptoms of diarrhea.
Personal Life and Legacy
Davila held positions at the University of Bucharest and was a member of the Romanian Academy. In 1874, his wife, Ana Racoviță, died after being mistakenly administered strychnine instead of quinine. Their son, Alexandru, later became a dramatist with close ties to King Carol I. Davila died in 1884 at the age of 56 in Bucharest. The University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest currently bears his name.
Fast facts
- Born: 1828, Parma
- Died: 1884, Bucharest
- Citizenship: France; Romania
- Military rank: general
- Education: University of Paris
- Notable invention: Davila tincture
- Professional memberships: Romanian Academy
Questions readers ask
What was the Davila tincture used for?
It was an opioid-based oral solution created to treat the symptoms of cholera.
Which major medical school did he help establish?
He co-founded the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1857.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Bucharest
