Andrés Martínez Vargas, the Founder of Modern Paediatrics in Spain

Matías, M. Labay

doi:10.5772/58889

Cited by 1 publication

(10 citation statements)

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“…1,2 He promoted the holistic view of patient care, by encompassing the hygienic, medical, legal and social issues relating to infancy. 1 The highly favourable outcomes of his approach led to the institutions of this type throughout Spain.…”

Section: Leading the Provision Of Spanish Paediatric Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In December 1920, Vargas gave what was probably his most famous speech, on The Ministry of Health in Spain . He said that 70 years after the Ministry had been formed there was still a lack of co‐ordination between medical and social responsibilities and that this was counterproductive to good health and welfare 1 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three years later, he was awarded the title Merit Academician of the Spanish‐American Royal Academy of Science and Arts. In 1926, Vargas received France's Legion of Honour for his work with the Franco‐Iberia‐American Medical Union, which established close relationships and the exchange of academic medical knowledge and clinical expertise 1 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The secondary school in his home town Barbastro has borne his name since 1975, in further recognition of his services. In 2010, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics re‐issued his collective work, History of Spanish Pediatrics 1 . A video documentary on Vargas' life and work was released in Spanish by the National University of Distance Education, Madrid, in 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This aimed to reduce infant mortality by providing mothers with advice on how to care for their children and provide good nutrition 1,2 . He promoted the holistic view of patient care, by encompassing the hygienic, medical, legal and social issues relating to infancy 1 . The highly favourable outcomes of his approach led to the institutions of this type throughout Spain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How pioneering paediatrician Andrés Martínez Vargas (1861–1948) improved child health in Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Kutzsche¹

2023

Acta Paediatrica

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The early history of Spanish paediatrics can be traced back to the 15th-17th century. The Spanish crown ordered to adapt standard textbooks written by royal physicians into the medical curricula of universities. In 1530, the royal physician Luis Lobera de Ávila published a textbook on health and the diseases of children. Then in 1611, Professor Francisco Pérez Cascales made one of the most important Spanish contributions to the paediatric literature, when he wrote about the afflictions of children caused by garrotillo or diphtheria. Àvila and Cascales were important figures in the foundation of paediatrics in Spain. Professor Juan de Soto wrote a treatise on diphtheria referring to the 1613 epidemic in Spain. Professor Luis Mercado was a leading practitioner and chief physician to the Spanish Habsburgs. In his posthumous collection of 1614, he was the first to describe diphtheria as an infectious disease. Gerónimo Soriano published Method and Order of Curing the Diseases of Children in 1690. This was the first written building block for paediatrics and exerted great scientific influence over Spanish, European and American physicians. There were breathtaking advances in paediatrics in Spain in the late 19th and early 20th century including decreased infant morbidity and mortality. These coincided with strengthening and prioritising child health and welfare of children. This much-welcomed change led to creating paediatrics as a medical speciality and the formation of institutions and societies dedicated to this new discipline. The first Spanish paediatric hospitals opened in Madrid in 1877, Barcelona in 1890 and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1901. Specialised municipal infant care clinics were set up, and the first university chairs of paediatrics were established. The National School of Child Care was launched in 1923. Smallpox vaccine and diphtheria antitoxin serum were introduced in 1850 and 1910-20, and schools for mothers were established. This period of rapid progress in child health care was guided and advanced by the skills and devotion of great pioneering and inspirational paediatricians. Andrés Martínez Vargas was a prominent figure during this period. 1.1 | Early life, career and influences Vargas was born in Barbastro, Aragon, in 1861 and was the eldest of seven children. In 1877, he began studying medicine at the University of Zaragoza and graduated with distinction. In 1881, he defended his doctoral thesis on the pathogenic theories of chlorosis, at the University of Madrid where he also spent 2 years working as a doctor for a local municipal charity. Vargas spent 1886-1888 in New York learning from the renowned paediatrician Abraham Jacobi (1830-1919), and he also visited Mexico and Cuba. He rejected two offers of a well-paid medical position in Mexico because of his commitment serve to Spain. Having received solid training abroad, he became the Professor of Childhood Diseases at the University of Granada in 1888. Four years later, he was appointed Chair of Childhood Illnesses and the clinical practice i...

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Section: Leading the Provision Of Spanish Paediatric Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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