History of Latin American Dermatology

HISTORY OFECUADORIANDERMATOLOGYMAURO MADERO IZAGUIRRE, FRANKLIN MADERO IZAGUIRRE,GALO MONTENEGRO LÓPEZ, MAURICIO COELLO URIGUEN,CLAUDIO ARIAS ARGUDO■ I. Dermatology in the coastal regionMauro Madero Izaguirre, Franklin Madero IzaguirreEcuador’s coastal or littoral region is the portion of territory lying between the PacificOcean to the West, the first slopes of the Andes to the East, the Colombian border to theNorth, and Peru to the South.This territory measuring 800 km in length and approximately with a surface of80,000 sq. km is mostly a coastal plain with some elevations of little height, especially inits central and northern parts.Since it lies in the equatorial area, like the rest of the country, and since it is at sealevel, this coastal region presents a tropical climate with average temperatures between23 ºC and 26 ºC, with two weather seasons, one from December to April — characterizedby the presence of heavy rainfall and an increase in the average temperature — and therest of the year with very scarce rainfall and cooler weather.Historical aspectsPre-Hispanic TimesAmong the different native peoples who inhabited the Ecuadorian littoral before thearrival of the Spaniards, the Huancavilca are those who hace received the most attentionfrom researchers of our medical past. This is why our article is based on the data obtainedabout this culture, made up of many tribes that populated the area that correspondsto present-day Guayas Province and part of Manabí and Los Ríos provinces.Located in the midst of the tropical area, the Huancavilca suffered the harshness ofthe climate; however, their pathology was not very varied, and this caused the Spanishconquistadors to consider these lands to be very healthy. Their cutaneous pathologycould be summed up as some infectious diseases, parasitic skin ailments, insect bites andcutaneous manifestations of drunkenness induced by the use of fermented drinks or ofpoisoning by substances consumed or used on their spears.187