Jozef Holomáň
This summary is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Niederland on the anniversary of his 100th Birthday,
the key founding member of the medical discipline of hepatology. Hepatology is not the discovery of 20thCentury;
even during the Middle Ages, the liver was a focus of interest. The growing interest in the field of hepatology was fueled
by several factors, including the rising trends in liver related morbidity and mortality and their gravity, progressive
developments in the diagnostics and therapeutics, increasing necessity of a transplantation program and the absence
of a defined health care plan for the patients suffering from liver disease. The outcome was the establishment and
the acceptance of the field of hepatology as an independent medical specialty, in Slovak Republic in 1998. Since then
more than 40 physician specialists in hepatology have emerged from the training program. A network of hematologist
specialist has emerged, the program of liver transplantation was established and a strategic concept for the hematologist
-specialist was conceived. This year we are having the 43rd. Annual Hepatology Congress, a particular attention is
paid to the formation of the young generation of hepatologists and our efforts are concentrating on the development
of the standards of care for patients with liver disease. Currently there is no doubt about the necessity of a hematologist-
specialist and the significant role of this discipline in the future. This fact is supported with literature documenting
the continuous increase in world prevalence and incidence of liver diseases, namely due to non-alcoholic and alcoholic
liver diseases, chronic viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The birth and the development of
the field of hepatology were the fulfillment of a dream of Professor Niederland and his students, who continue to strive
in the development of a systematic approach to the provision of healthcare for the patients suffering from liver disease.