title: Cult of St. Blasius, patron saint of throat sufferers and of otolaryngologists, in Croatia.
abstract: In the introductory part presented is a short hagiography of St. Blasius, and the legend of miraculous healing of a child in whose throat a bone had stuck, threatening to choke the child. Thanks to that legend, St. Blasius has become the traditional patron of the laryngeal diseases, and, since recently, the patron of the otolaryngologists, too. The second part of the paper is dedicated to the cult of St. Blasius, which is present in Croatia since the 10th century until present. Venerated all over the country, St. Blasius has been "elected" the heavenly protector of 10 parish communities, as well as of the city and the dioceses of Dubrovnik. Beside pilgrimage and prayers, among many traditional forms of folk piety, a ritual called "grlicenje" has been preserved-a curative and preventive blessing of the throat with crossed candles on the Saint's Day. In more recent times, the same day has been remembered among Croatian otolaryngologists and the societies of laryngectomized persons, who chose St. Blasius for their patron, too.
authors.affiliation: Rijeka University School of Medicine, Department of the History of Medicine, Ul. Brace Branchetta 20, HR-51000 Rijeka, Croatia. anteskrobonja@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ante
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skrobonja
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muzur
authors.forename: Stanko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jurdana
mesh_terms: D002562:Ceremonial Behavior; D017523:Croatia; D005197:Famous Persons; D049691:History, Medieval; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000266:history*; D010612:Pharyngitis; D012067:Religion; D012068:Religion and Medicine