Dr. Dal: precision of the scalpel and clarity of the word

Abstract

The article highlights the medical career and contributions of Vladimir Ivanovich Dal (1801–1872) – a renowned Russian lexicographer and ethnographer, but less well known as a military physician. It presents details of his studies at the University of Dorpat, his service as an army doctor during the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) and the Polish campaign (1831), where he distinguished himself as a skilled surgeon and epidemiologist. His clinical observations, which anticipated the principles of antisepsis, as well as his accounts of epidemics, are examined. Particular attention is given to Dal’s works on medical education and folk medicine: his essay “A Physician’s Word to the Sick and the Healthy”, his study “On Folk Remedies” (1843), his interest in homeopathy, and his role in establishing a homeopathic clinic in Nizhny Novgorod. It is noted that Dal was among the first in Russia to describe the placebo effect and to advocate for the integration of scientific medicine with the proven practices of folk healers. His legacy reflects the rare union of practitioner, scholar, and educator, for whom words and healing were inseparable.