[Zdeněk Mařatka and his share in the founding of the Czech Gastroenterological Society and its journal. Gastroenterological Society in Czech and Slovac republics].

Zdeněk Mařatka (1914-2010) was a leading person in a Czech and Slovak gastroenterology in spite of the infavourable approach of the official communist policy to him.. He was one of the founders of gastroenterology in Czechoslovakia. He had been habilitated in 1948 for thesis Ulcerative colitis. Mařatka stood at the first steps of foundation of Czech Gastroenterology Society very soon after the WW2 and followed with the preparation as a secretary ge-neral of the 8th ASNEMGE Congress in Prague 1968 and as a president the 1st Congress of Endoscopy in the very optimistic atmosphere of ,,Prague Spring". He was nominated or elected by several international gastroenterology organisations, during 1976-1980 had been President of ESGE. He started with editoring of Czech gastroenterology Association journal as a member of editorial board and had been its main editor between 1969-1999. His well appreciated novelty in the magazine was a short remarks in one or two sentences from the world scientific literature which appeared in every copy. As an editor emeritus he supported the quality of the journal by many advices and contributions including articles.