History of Latin American Dermatology

Historical outline of Dermatology in CubaThe first Leprosy Control Program was established, led by Prof. Bartolomé Sagaró(Figure 9); it has been updated over time in accordance with new scientific knowledgeand the development of the country’s National Health System.In the first half of the 1960s compulsory internships were created for all students aswell as the Dermatology residency; the internship was performed in the sixth year of thestudy course and the residency in a graduate studies program lasting two years.In 1966, the first Instructors of the period’s Chair of Dermatology were appointed:Drs. José Díaz Almeida, Alfredo Abreu, José Díaz de la Rocha, Fernando Fernández andPedro Regalado Ortiz; in 1969 they were promoted to auxiliary professors and in 1977to full professorships.Over the course of this process, the teaching of Medicine, and with it that of Dermatology,spread to the entire country.In 1966, teaching activities were launched in Santiago de Cuba and Dr. Miguel ÁngelD´Alessandro, a noted dermatologist from that province, was appointed professor.Dr. Enrique Llanos, an outstanding dermatologist from Camagüey, was named professorin that province.In the province of Santa Clara a professorship was granted to Dr. Serafín Ruiz deZárate, a prestigious specialist from the country’s central region.When teaching was launched in the province of Matanzas in 1969, Dr. Zobeida Lovio,endowed with outstanding qualities in both teaching and treatment, was appointed professor.In the province of Pinar del Ríos Dr. Luis Ruqué, who had been working as a dermatologist,was appointed to carry out professorial duties.In the administrative structure of the Public Health Ministry, nationwide and provincialgroups were set up, constituted by physicians of a high scientific level and acknowledgedprestige, to advise on the diverse medical subfields. Dr. Bartolomé Sagaró wasappointed Head of the National Dermatology Group; as of 1972 he was replaced by Dr.Alfredo Abreu, who has continues in the post up to the present.More than 20 books and monographs were published over this period; standoutsamong them are Dermatological Propedeutics, by Prof. Hernández Baquero, Dermatologyfor Students and the Practical Doctor, by Prof. Miguel A. González Prendes, Histomorphologyof the Skin, by Dr. DaRíos Argüelles, Mycology, by Dr. Alfonso Armenteros,and the first official textbook for students written by the Collective of the Chair of Dermatology.At the conclusion of the first decade the specialized field had been strengthened, witha larger number of specialists having graduated, a better organization of the Servicesand treatment coverage that encompassed all of the country’s provinces.In October 1970 Dr. José Arvelo, a PAHO consultant, carried out an advisory visit on“Prevention and rehabilitation of physical disabilities among leprosy patients,” duringwhich the First International Course on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Disablitieswas taught (Figure 10).The evaluation and restructuring of the “St. John of Jagua” National Hospital was carriedout in the same year, with a view to deactivating it, in accordance with the moderncriteria on the epidemiology of leprosy as regards the rehabilitation of patients and abandonmentof compulsory interment.In 1972 Prof. Carlos Castanedo published the book Allergy, Dermatology and AssociatedPhenomena, in which he sets out his own experience.In 1973, Prof. José Díaz Almeida (Figure 11) carried out the first study performed withelectronic microscopy in our country of leprosy in peritoneal macrophages of the rats.In December 1975, in Matanzas, the Second Provincial Session on Dermatology washeld, at which the Branch Office of the Cuban Society of Dermatology in that office wasset up and the Second Provincial Seminar of Interviewers – Pollsters was closed.Figure 9. BartoloméSagaró Delgado(1919-2001)157