The history of the Serbian Medical Society from 1872 to 2025

The first idea to establish a Medical Society that would bring together all doctors of the Principality of Serbia and which would publish its own journal stemmed from Dr. Aćim Medović (1859). Dr. Vladan Đorđević with fourteen colleagues founded the Serbian Medical Society (SMS) in 1872, which has been publishing the journal Serbian Archives of Medicine since 1874. In accordance with the goals proclaimed in the “Constitution of the Serbian Medical Society”, the work of the Society was mainly limited to the continuing education of doctors. Practically, until the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, SMS was the only place where doctors could acquire new knowledge in all fields of medicine. The Serbian Medical Society has actively participated in the foundation of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade (1920), the Ministry of Public Health (1918), the Serbian Medical Chamber (1921), and the School of Dental Medicine in Belgrade (1948). The first specialist sections within SMS were established during the period between the two world wars. After World War II, a larger number of specialist sections and branches were established. Today, the Serbian Medical Society has 62 sections, 47 branches, and around 15 thousand active members. The Academy of Medical Sciences also operates within the Society.