[The history of medicine and the history of public health].

The paper reports on the new phenomena which have occurred in the Western countries during recent three decades. The main stress has been put on the principles of methodology and the scope of the research involved in so-called social history of medicine, taking the U.S.A., France and Germany as the example. Research scope and methodological approach to the history of public health has been also discussed, using as an example G. Rosen's A History of Public Health and E. Fee's remarks on the work contained in its second (extended) edition. It has been concluded that the research workers dealing with the Polish history of medicine ought to assimilate the results of both research trends quoted above.