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The 17th century Baroque period was characterised by an elaborate rather eccentric redundancy and excessive abundance of detail, which contrasted to the clear and sober rationality of the preceding Renaissance and the subsequent Enlightenment. The movement is generally believed to have originated in Rome, at the beginning of the 17th century and spread to France and most of Europe. Generally associated with the artistic movement, the elaborate baroque style was to permeate to various aspects of life including male dress fashion especially that of the nobility and members of the chivalric Orders. The Order of Saint Lazarus saw its origins in the Kingdom of Jerusalem after the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century. Starting primarily as a Hospitaller Order caring for victims of Hansen's disease [leprosy], the Order eventually assumed a military role participating in various military campaigns against the Islamic forces. The raison d'être of the Order changed in the subsequent centuries and, during the 16th century, the Order was transformed completely from a Crusader Hospitaller Monkish Order into a Chivalric Military Order enjoying French Royal protection. The changing role of the Order throughout the centuries was reflected by the dress adopted by its members and by the fashion imposed during the Baroque Age. ; peer-reviewed

King George V Hospital, originally commissioned in 1922, saw its closure in 1967. It was eventually reopened under the management of the Department of Health as Boffa Hospital in 1970. In the interim years, the budding Maltese jurisdiction of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem made serious bids to assume the management of the hospital hoping to set up a service for public and private-paying patients. ; peer-reviewed

The 1565 Siege of Malta served as a turning point in the westward Ottoman advance. The 4-month long siege was resisted by the indomitable belief of the defenders that their cause was just and holy. It also required prior detailed organisation to ensure sufficient war materials and that the overall health of the combatants and non-combatants was maintained throughout the months of the siege. This article reviews the contemporary and historical sources relating to the conflict to identify the medical operational plans used by the military during this historic siege. ; N/A

Much of the detailed information about the extent of the practice of medicine of the Ancient Egyptians comes from the rich source of textual material that has been found over the years. The main textual material comes from several Ancient Egyptian papyri which have a medical content. Most of these documents relate to diseases, remedies and the structure of the body as well as incantations and magic spells used as treatments in many cases. Most of these were discovered in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and no doubt these are only the tip of the iceberg. Many tracts must have been destroyed down through the years by natural phenomenon as well as by human intervention such as tomb robbers, military invasions and such like. ; peer-reviewed

Christianity from its initiation looked at nursing of the sick and infirm as a Christian duty and several communities dedicated to the service of the sick and infirm were founded throughout the centuries. One such community of nursing sisters was founded in Paris in 1633 by St Vincent de Paule and St Louise de Marillac under the title of "Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor". This order was the first of the non-enclosed congregations of nuns whose charitable domains involved nursing, moral and social welfare, and teaching. It was to serve as a model to other non-enclosed congregations, which were founded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. One of these congregations was that of the Sisters of Charity founded in 1799 by St Joan Antide Thouret in France. St Antide was a French peasant girl who at the age of 22 years joined the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. Shortly thereafter, the French Revolution broke out and all of the Sisters were disbanded and set back to their hometowns. St Antide was requested by the Vicar General of Besancon, France to begin work among the people of his diocese. On the 11 th April 1799, St Joan Antide Thouret opened a free school for the education of girls and organised a soup kitchen for the poor. From its humble beginnings in 1799, the community eventually spread from France to other European countries and ultimately to America and Asia. In 1810, Jeanne Antide was asked to begin the same works in Savoy, Switzerland and Naples, Italy. In 1868 they were asked to come to Malta to care for orphans and later to nurse the sick in government hospitals and hospices. In 1932 the Sisters of Charity of St Joan Antida extended their works to the United States where they ministered to the Italian immigrants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the height of the depression. The Order has continued to branch out across 25 countries. ; peer-reviewed

The search for possible effective therapeutic agents in the 17th century led to the discovery of Fungus Melitensis. This parasitic flowering plant was initially believed to grow only on a small islet off Gozo known variably as General's or Fungus Rod,. First mentioned by the Maltese historian Gian Francisco Abela in 1647, the plant was described and illustrated by the botanist Paulo Boccone from Palenno in 1674. A detailed clinical treatise was prepared by the Maltese physician Gio Francesco Bonamico in 1689. Basing the rationale of therapeutic properties on the "doctrine of signatures", the Fungus Melitensis was considered useful by virtue of its colour in conditions involving blood [particularly Jar dysentery]; while on the basis of its phallic appearance it was considered efficacious for venereal disease. The plant gained increasing popularity and started being exported overseas to Europe. The increasing demand on this restricted plant led to concern on its possible extinction and legislative measures were enforced whereby its gathering was reserved Jar the Grandmaster. The sides of General's Rock were also made smooth to make access to the rock difficult. The plant lost its medicinal reputation dwing the early decades of the nineteenth century. The plant has now been relegated to the annals of medical history and folklore, though it is now designated a protected species. ; peer-reviewed

The Medieval Period in the Mediterranean World is generaly considered to cover a period of about a thousand years, and is considered to initiate with the end of the Roman era heralded by the division of the Roman Empure into two parts between the sons of Theodosius in AD 395. It ended with the advent of the Renaissance movement of the fifteenth century. This period in Malta was to see the Islands come under the influence of the Byzantine Empire encompassing the period prior to the ninth century; the Arab dominance starting in AD 870 and lasting until their formal expulsion in the mid-13th century; and the Latin phase of the late 13th century to the early 16th century when the islands were ceded to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The documentary sources dated to before the 14th century are rather scanty and often limited to ecclesiastical and political matters. A number of extant documents relate to medical matters, particularly with the setting up and management of hospital services and with matters relating to the affairs of hospitaller orders having links to the Maltese Islands. ; peer-reviewed

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great [306-337 AD] transformed Rome and the Holy Land into magnets of Christian pilgrimage. The first surviving account of a pilgrim's journey to Jerusalem dates to the year 333 AD; however the Holy Places of Palestine have been visited by pilgrims since the early days of Christianity. The earliest known Palestinian pilgrims were, for the most part, devout souls, many of them clergy or in religious orders. The increasing flow of pilgrims to the various shrines in Europe and the Holy Land required the organisation of hospice services for sick and needy pilgrims throughout the pilgrim routes. One such hospital set up in North Italy along the still uncivilized route between Lucca and Genoa apparently had financial interests in Sicily and the Maltese Islands during the fourteenth century. ; peer-reviewed

The origins of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus is shrouded in a haze of myth and legend. The problem has been further compouded by the loss of essential dowments from the ravages of wars and time. The Order's presence was a definite reality after the conquest of Jerusalem on the 14h July 1099 by the Crusaders under the leadership of Godfrey of Bouillon. The re-organization initiated in the hospitaller services available in the Holy City resulted in the setting up of two hospitaller Orders, both adopting the Rule of Saint Augustine. ; peer-reviewed

The first decades of the twentieth century found the Maltese enjoying a very low cultural maturity particularly in health matters. The reasons for this were multifactorial and were partly related to the generally low level of education and limited availability of educational material in the vernacular language. At the turn of the twentieth century, the working class population was reported to be seemingly aware of the value of education and suitable facilities for the pursuit of a comprehensive education had been made available. However because of the overpowering circumstances that the majority of the working class population had to yield to, illiteracy was still much more widely prevalent than supposed. During 1911-12, the average daily attendance in the Government Elementary and Infant Schools amounted to 15,657 students. The average daily attendance in the Secondary Schools and Lyceum amounted to only 616 students while the average daily attendance to University courses amounted to 138 students. The figures suggest that only about 4-5% of children attending primary education completed their studies and progressed to a Secondary level. The Maltese language was taught in the primary classes, but English and Italian reading was only commenced at Standard Ill, when many of the children would have already been withdrawn from the educational system. ; peer-reviewed

The spreading cult of Christ the Healer during the Medieval period led to sick-nursing being viewed as a Christian duty. This encouraged royal dignitaries and philantrophic individuals to donate funds towards the institution and maintenance of a hospital or hospice, the management of these institutions being often shared with religious authorities. The Maltese Islands have been serviced by a series of hospitals, the earliest dating to the fourteenth century. In line with the changing governing authorities through the centuries, the "houses of healing" were variously organized to reflect the different attitudes towards management structures and responsibility cascade. The hospital authorities further exercised their control over the various levels of personnel by detailing regulations that governed the work ethos of all hospital staff. These regulations augmented the general legislative measures taken by the government authorities to control medical and surgical, midwifery and apothecary practices. To assist the government and hospital authorities in ensuring efficient management of the various institutions, data collection and analysis tools were introduced to audit the practice. ; peer-reviewed

The advent of a foreign organized militia to Malta dates to the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1530. Known for their hospitaller traditions, the Order soon established a hospital at Vittoriosa. This hospital was subsequently in 1574 transferred to a new building in Valletta. Rather than restricting their hospitals to members of the Order, the Sacra Infirmeria catered for the needs of all segments of the population including orphans and foundlings, and thus functioned more as a general hospital rather than a military or naval establishment. ; peer-reviewed

It is very difficult to write the history of an event when one has been an active participant. The direct experience of a life-significant event would undoubtedly cloud ones viewpoint. History can only be truly written by individuals who have not participated in the event and whose outlook can be an unbiased view of the facts with a clear knowledge of the subsequent outcomes. I have lived through the doctor's industrial action as a third-year medical student and I have therefore first hand knowledge of many of the facts that I shall relate. I shall endeavour to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and in the process try to avoid as much as possible giving an interpretation of the facts. This I leave for later historians. Two active participants the Hon Secretary of the MAM and the Attorney General - have previously described the events of the industrial strife between the medical profession and the government of the day. These authors have poorly or erroneously described the students' role in the strife. ; N/A

The first hospital recorded in Malta was already functioning in 1372, while in the sister island of Gozo a hospital was founded in 1454. The arrival of the Hospitallier Order of St. John to the Islands in 1530 resulted in the expansion of services in the Islands as part of a state-organized social services system. At the end of the eighteenth century (1798), the hospitals in use during the time of the Knights of St. John included the renowned Sacra Infermeria for men and the Casetta for females, both at Valletta serving the southeastern harbour region. The rural central region of the Island was served by the medieval Santo Spirito Hospital situated at Rabat, which served poor patients of both sexes. These hospitals were supplemented by several hospices for the elderly and infirm including the 280-bed hospice for both sexes at Floriana, the 80-bed hospice for both sexes at Saura Hospital at Rabat, and the 15-bed hospice for females at Żebbuġ. There was also a quarantine hospital on Manoel Island. The Island of Gozo was catered for by two hospitals, one for males and one for females, both situated at Victoria. The ousting of the Order by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 required a reorganization of the hospital services with a segregation of civil and military patients. The Sacra Infermeria was taken over by the French to be used as a Military Hospital being named the Grand Hôpital. A new Hôpital Civil for male civilians was established in Valletta. This segregation was further augmented during the nineteenth century under British dominion when hospital services were organized for civilians, military and naval personnel. ; peer-reviewed