History of Latin American Dermatology

DERMATOLOGY – ARTAND CULTUREAMALIA M. BORES, INÉS A. BORES, LIDIA E. VALLEWe thank Prof. Dr. Federico Pérgola for overseeing thepresent paperThe concept of culture is very vast and allows for diverse interpretations. If we go bythe definition of Gordon Childe 1 , it is the set of material and non-material elements withwhich man handles himself within society 2 . Each human group is characterized by aunique set of guidelines of its own 3 .An essential constituent in the training of a physician is the culture of spiritual freedomthat will give pride of place to anthropological ethical values and will give primacyto being. The medical humanities (History of Medicine, Medical Linguistics, Medical Anthropology,Medical Sociology, Medical Ethics, Medical Epistemology, Medical Communication,Medical Esthetics) allow the concept of man to be placed within the social andcultural framework. It is through them that it becomes possible to generate a criticalspirit, an attitude of methodical and rational doubt. This anti-dogmatism will free us fromnegative features such as the dehumanization of medicine and biological reductionism 4 .In his work Philosophy and Medicine, Loudet states, “It is not inappropriate to speakof clinical medicine and philosophy. The great physicians of all periods and of all schoolswere doctors and philosophers of their science. They didn’t only contemplate the effects,but also sought the causes; they did not get lost in the shifting seas of symptoms andsought their intimate explanation; they weren’t impressionistic prescribers, but experiencedpractitioners; they never ceased to respect the healing action of nature itself anddid not disturb it with therapeutic impertinence; they were prudent clinical doctors beforethey were bold innovators” 5 .Dermatology in literature■ Dermatology in literatureArt may be understood as the human production that, employing diverse materials,symbolically expresses an aspect of reality, apprehended esthetically.There are numerous examples of dermatologists whose sensibility led them to cultivatethe arts (music, painting, literature, sculpture). They did not limit themselves to theroutine practice of their profession; rather, in order to fully understand the human condition,they devoted themselves to achieving a comprehensive knowledge. Among theirnumber, we will draw attention to Carlos Federico Guillot and Marcial Quiroga.Carlos Federico Guillot (1917-1984), a brilliant dermatologist, was a founding member49