[The Internet and medicine. I. Historical development, current organizational structure, E-mail, the Web and discussion forums].

The authors present an account on the historical development of the most important contemporary information network INTERNET from its beginnings in the sixties to the present time. They explain the historical circumstances of its development, elucidate its character and describe the creation and fusion of all main information networks during the seventies, eighties and nineties up to their present shape. They deal with the contemporary organizational structure of INTERNET, safety and reliability of transmitted information and values of its services. They explain terms like E-mail, Web, multimedia and discussion fora and describe how to join this gigantic information network in practice.