History of Latin American Dermatology

RAÚL VIGNALEmonth was established as the day for meetings, a date which has since then been regularlycomplied with.Participating at the outset of the Society were the illustrious Drs. Rafael Turcio, CándidoPrego, Ernesto Cacciatore, Luis A. Torres de la Llosa, Héctor Abreu, Arturo Prunell,Arnaldo Lombardi, Manuel Terán, Radamés Costa, Angel Sanjinés, Juan F. Tost, AntonioBlanco, Leocadio Alvarez. Each Service’s clinical cases were presented and discussed,and very often the most interesting ones were published in the journals of the period.For twelve years, during the De Facto Period — of domestic war — no meetings of anykind were allowed, for which reason the Society suspended its sessions. In 1984, itrestarted its activities with new zest and enthusiasm, which led it to carry out monthlymeetings and to renew its Governing Boards every two years on the occasion of the NationalCongresses.Another fact to stress is that the number of dermatologists practicing their professionin the various departments (districts) of the Republic led to the creation of the Inland Societyof Dermatology.For the last six years, the Uruguayan Society of Dermatology has a headquarters ofits own, a permanent secretariat, an archive holding its records from its launching to recentyears, computers for the young to search for bibliography and a library with the latestinternational journals, recently subscribed to. These results have been obtained afteran arduous, tenacious and persistent labor of the Governing Boards with the efficaciouscooperation of drug companies. As we have already pointed out, the journal DermatologíaUruguaya, the Society’s official organ, was published for three years, after whichit ceased publication for financial reasons.Lastly, it must be stressed that the successive Presidents and Governing Boards haveworked intensively for many years with unique devotion and dedication, achieving an internationalstanding. The majority of Uruguayan dermatologists currently publish innumerablescientific papers in diverse foreign journals such as the Archivos Argentinos deDermatología, Revista de la Asociación Argentina de Dermatología, Revista Chilena deDermatología, Anais Brasileiros de Dermatología, Actas Dermosifilográficas de España,as well as several publications of the United States. Congratulations to them all. In theserecent periods with Macedo and currently with de Anda, they have been holding theirmonthly meetings and especially Intensive Courses on different aspects of Modern Dermatologysuch as Esthetic and Surgical Medicine which will prove highly fruitful for futuregenerations.■ History and evolution of the struggle against sexuallytransmitted diseases in UruguayHistory and evolution of the struggle against sexually transmitted diseases in UruguayIn the early days of Montevideo life, treatment for the sick was offered fundamentallyon the basis of Christian charity. But with the passage of time, these ideas graduallychanged, so that the obligation was established on the part of the State to treat those personswho, lacking in means, required medical attention; this led to the creation of varioushospital centers. One of the population’s major sanitary problems were venerealdiseases, currently called Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). The very large numberof patients involved led the Government, through Public Health officials and by a rulingof the National Council on Hygiene, to found the Prophylactic Institute for Syphilis on May23, 1917, with a view to the prophylaxis and treatments of those patients and to protectthe health of the population. Its first head was Dr. Juan A. Rodríguez, who was succeededby Dr. Manuel Terán until 1949, the year on which Prof. Dr. José May took over. It is necessaryto stress that it was the first building in the Americas devoted exclusively to thisdisease. The Ministry of Public Health, created in 1933, incorporated the Prophylactic416