Soviet Medicine, No. 12, 1948

Wound healing with the synthetic Balsam Shostakovskiy

А.P. Bazhenov
Propedeotic surgery clinic (Director- the member of USSR Academy of Medical Sciences the honored worker of science professorI.G. Rufanov) I Order of Lenin Moscow Medical Institute on the basis of Clinical hospital named after “Medsantrud”(Head doctor V.P. Uspenskaya)

Natural Balsams are the product of the plant cells. They are contained in the cortex and timber of many plants. The main compounds of the balsam are essential oils, pitches and aromatics (compound ethers, aldehydes, ketones).

The usage of natural balsams is known in medicine from ancient times. The most known balsams are Peru balsam, fir needle balsam, terebenthene and Vishnevskiy ointment that has the balsamic properties.

Peru balsam that is known with its healing effect from ancient times was experimentally tested many times. (Zuter, Vit, Brunner). The authors came to conclusion that Peru balsam has the antiseptic effect. Kovtunovish mentioned in his experimental work about the comparative effect of different antiseptics that the most effective balsam was Peru balsam. Its effect is based on its power to change the immune biological properties of the tissues by increasing their defense reaction. Fir needle balsam and rosin have the same properties according to the author’s data.

N.N. Perove and some other authors administrated the natural balsams for the curing of gun shot wounds during the Great Patriotic War. There were the following balsams: (Peru balsam, Fir needles balsam, cade oil and synthetic Peru balsam offered by professor Yoffe. With reference to their monitoring they came to the following conclusions concerning balsams:

1) they possess the antiseptic effect;
2) they possess the low grade anesthetic effect;
3) they deodorize the wound properly;
4) they make the process of bandage changing less painful;
5) promotes the healing process by the increasing of tissue reaction.