History of Latin American Dermatology

Historical outline of Dermatology in Cubaopened the first room for the treatment of leprosy patients, headedby Dr. Matías Duque Perdomo, Cuba’s first Secretary for Health andWelfare, a clinical doctor and surgeon who studied that disease 11(Figure 3).In 1907, after teaching numerous courses to medical students,Prof. G. Menocal saw the need to publish a text that would assist inthe understanding of dermatological diseases. With that aim, he publishedthe book Notions of Skin Diseases and Syphilis, followed in1911 by the Handbook of Skin Diseases and Syphilis.Among his merits was that of awakening in his students the interestin skin diseases. The most distinguished among them wereDrs. Braulio Sáenz and Vicente Pardo Castelló, his continuators,who completed their dermatological training with study scholarshipsobtained as eminent students at the University of Havana.Dr. Sáenz graduated as a medical doctor in 1909 and soon decidedto specialize in dermatosyphilography, pursuing studies inPhiladelphia, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. He returned to Cuba in1914 and was appointed graduate assistant at the Prof. Menocal’sDermatology and Syphilography Service 9 (Figure 4).Dr. Pardo, who graduated in 1914, acquired his first dermatologicalknowledge as an intern with Prof. G. Menocal. In 1915 hetraveled to the Unites States where he worked with major dermatologists (Figure 5).Menocal — the master — died in 1917; a year later, on September 4, 1918, Dr. Sáenz,in open contest, obtained the post of full professor. As of that moment, Dermatology acquiredseparate status as a specialized field and the chair was constituted with headquartersat the Our Lady of Mercies Hospital. For his part, in 1924, when the UniversityReform came into force, Dr. Pardo obtained the post of auxiliary professor heading theDermatosyphilography Clinic.In 1925, the Dermatology Service of the Calixto García Hospital was opened, constitutedby Mycology, Dermatopathology, Clinical Laboratory, Radiotherapy, Surgery, Leprosy andSyphilis, Social Services and other sections; Prof. Pardo was appointed to head it.Following the criterion of professors Sáenz and Pardo, the dean of the Medical Schooldivided the course into two groups, one being headed byProf. Sáenz at the Mercies Hospital and the other by Prof.Pardo at the Calixto García Hospital 10 ; as of that momentthe teaching of Dermatology began to be offered at the country’stwo highest-level hospital centers.As a private social action undertaking, the League for SocialHygiene was created in 1925; it had an ephemeral lifespanand was replaced in 1928 by the Cuban League forSocial Prophylaxis, which carried out public information anddissemination activities.In 1927 Prof. Pardo published his book Notions of Dermatologyand Syphilography, re-edited in 1941, 1945 and 1953under the title Dermatology and Syphilography. Noted dermatologistsfrom Brazil, Mexico, Peru and El Salvador, aswell as 21 Cuban authors, collaborated in these new editions.In 1928, as part of the growth of the Mercies Hospital, the wing allocated to the DermatologyService was built — endowing it with all the sections required by a treatmentand teaching service — and it was given the name of “Raimundo Menocal.” In 1934, theupper story of the wing was built, bequeathed by Prof. Sáenz in memory of his wife andchildren, tragically lost in the Morro Castle maritime disaster 12 .Figure 2. Our Lady ofMercies Hospital(1886)Figure 3. HospitalNo. 1, current GeneralCalixto GarcíaUniversity Hospital(1896)Figure 4. BraulioSáenz Ricard(1886-1961)Figure 5. VicentePardo Castelló(1892-1967)153