The article presents history of creation of the paramedic’s profession since 18th century France, when two Napoleonic army’s surgeons: Dominique Jean Larrey and Pierre Francois Percy got fame in organising help for wounded on the battlefield. Larey created effective system of sanitary services. He introduced the process of deciding on the priority of patientsʼ treatments based on quick evaluation of on the severity of their condition and named this process with French word „triage” („segregation”). He also organised efficient transport of the injured to hospitals – in 1793 he designed the so-called volatile ambulance – „ambulance volante”, which became the prototype of today’s ambulances. Pierre Francois Percy created a company of brankardiers – soldiers armed with pikes, which were intended not only to fight, but also as staves to the stretcher. The article shows the development and modifications of triage, first in war-time medicine, then in emergency medicine until modern times. It describes the introduction of independent paramedic’s profession, firstly in the USA, then all around the world. The article contains the history of paramedic’s profession development in Poland as well as depicts the system of Polish Emergency Medical Services.

Keywords: history of medicine, paramedics, emergency medicine, triage, START system, Emergency Medical Services in Poland.