The emergence of cancer of the colonand rectum as the number one cancerin the United States (in incidence) hasresulted in heightened recognition of

proctosigmoidoscopy as an importantdetection technique. Interest in rectalintestinal cancer is also high in theU.S.S.R., as evidenced from the bro

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“¿�Proktologicheskaya

Klinika―

The U.S.S.R.combatscancerof the colonand rectum

p-I-'..-..,,1@

Fig. 1. Weekly staff-conference and discussion.

chure Bolyezni priamoi i tolstoi kishok(“Diseases of the Rectum and LargeIntestine―), which describes the Proctological Clinic in Moscow. The Clinic isdepicted not only as a center for patient-care, but also as a training facility and headquarters for specialization in proctology for physicians fromthe entire Soviet Union. Housed on the

second floor of newly-built Hospital#G7, the 100-bed Clinic is headed byProfessor A. N. Ryzhikh. In additionto patient-space, the Clinic also p@

vides a centralized complex of laboratories and offices.

The Clinic is also heavily involved inresearch. Professor Ryzhikh himself(with Drs. A. G. Bobrova and Zh. M.Yukhidova) is currently studying precancerous conditions of the bowel.

Surgeons-in-training have comefrom all over the huge nation—fromKrasnodar in the west to Vladivostokin the east, from Lvov in the north toIrkutsk in the south.

To date, 35 scientific works haveissued from the Clinic. (Figure 2 showsthe cover to one publication: Aktual'nye voprosy proktologii, “¿�Currentproblems in proctology.―) ProfessorRyzhikh is the author of an “¿�AtlasofOperations on the Rectum and LargeIntestine.―

Among the main research problen1sreceiving attention are: pathogenesisand treatment of precancerous conditions; and evaluation and improvementof the various modes of therapy—surgical, radiational and chemotherapeutic

Fig. 2. One of the Clinic's publications: “¿�Currentproblems in proctology.―

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—¿�forcancer of the colon and rectum.Although visiting surgeons-in-train

ing attend staff-conferences, they arealso given special training at sessionsreserved solely for them (Fig. 3). As of1962, 26 surgeons had received theirtraining at the Proctological Clinic,subsequently to return to their various

home regions and republics. TheU.S.S.R. is evidently taking measuresto combat cancer of the colon and rectum and in the absence of private practice, the Proctological Clinic has takenon a centralized training function intended to meet the problem, in additionto treatment of patients.

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