The 50-year history of the Nephrology Department in Kosice (Slovak Republic).

The authors present the development of clinical nephrology from 1954 to 2004 at the Louis Pasteur Faculty Hospital and the Medical Faculty of P.J. Safárik University in Kosice (Slovak Republic), recounting its role in the delivery of preventive and therapeutic care, teaching and research. On October 24, 1997 a Nephrology Clinic was established, the first in the Slovak Republic. This led to the further qualitative development of nephrology not only in Kosice but in the whole Slovak Republic.