Alexey Yu. Kuzmenkov,
Veronika M. Ostapenko,
Roman S. Kozlov
Smolensk State Medical University
28 Krupskoy St., Smolensk 214019, Russia

This work covers the main stages in the development of medical cartography as a branch of medical geography. The author reveals the origin and early development of this analytical method when the development or preparation of maps with the inclusion of health information acquired the magnitude of a scientific activity. The late 18th-century military practice of mapping diseases is illustrated. Notable moments in the development of medical cartography in Russia from the beginning of the 18th century are considered. The Soviet-era formation of the medical-geographical branch with its anthropological orientation and the methodological approach of systematic medical-geographical mapping are described. The modern developmental period of medical cartography methods is characterized, highlighting the three types of medical maps that are currently used. Taking into account the development of modern computer technologies and geo-information systems, opportunities for the further improvement and introduction of medical cartography into everyday practice are revealed. The application of a geo-systemic approach (construction of cartographic works on the basis of cosmo-photographical maps) is described. The potential for the use of medical cartography in epidemiological and geographical studies by pairing it with the geo-monitoring processes is indicated, as is the creation of regional medical and geographical data banks, medical and geographical management and its introduction into the practice of regional management.