Great Encyclopedia of Medicine

(GEM), an original Soviet scholarly reference work for physicians actively practicing medicine or engaged in research or teaching. GEM treats the most important biomedical, clinical, and sociomedical problems from the standpoint of Marxist-Leninist philosophy. The first edition in 35 volumes (1928–36), edited by N. A. Semashko, was the first completed Soviet medical encyclopedia. The advances made in recent years in medical science and public health were summed up in the second edition of the GEM in 36 volumes (1956–64), edited by Academician A. N. Bakulev. This publication contains 13,651 articles, 24,227 (including 97 stereoscopic) illustrations with appended phonograph records containing the sounds arising in the human body during pathological processes. The authors of the articles include about 3,000 Soviet scientists and physicians; a number of articles were written by scientists of other socialist countries. The second edition of the GEM had a printing of about 100,000 copies. A subject index (in Russian and Latin) and an index of topics and names were published in 1965. A GEM Yearbook was published in 1968, 1969, and 1970. Because of the rapid development of medical science in the last decade a new, third edition of the GEM in 30 volumes is being prepared under the editorship of Academician B. V. Petrovskii.