Dynamis

Dynamis y los nuevos retos en la edición de revistas científicas

Translating Pasteur to the Maghreb

The laboratory and the village: the Algiers Pasteur Institute and «colonization physicians» in the fight against malaria (1904-1939)

Dès la fin du XIXe siècle, plusieurs médecins installés en Algérie ainsi que les professeurs de l'Ecole supérieure de médecine d'Alger cherchent à cartographier le paludisme pour tenter de proposer la prophylaxie de la maladie, fréquente dans les campagnes de la colonie. Lorsque la lutte contre le paludisme s'organise en Algérie au début du XXe siècle sous l'égide du gouvernement général et de l'Institut Pasteur, les médecins de cet établissement ont besoin de données diverses pour établir des index endémiques et organiser des programmes d'action. Déjà relais de l'administration dans les campagnes algériennes, les médecins de colonisation, personnel chargé des soins médicaux des populations des districts ruraux depuis les années 1850, apparaissent dans les campagnes comme des collaborateurs tout trouvés d'une organisation qui fonctionne également avec des agents quininisateurs, des agents s'occupant des mesures antilarvaires mais aussi d'autres services de la colonie comme les Ponts et chaussées et le service hydraulique. On insiste cependant régulièrement sur la nécessité de les former aux nouvelles techniques de parasitologie. Des cours de perfectionnement sont ainsi proposés pour faire de ces praticiens des relais aussi efficaces que possibles du service antipaludique. C'est notamment l'ambition du cours de 34 jours organisé à partir de 1932 par l'Institut Pasteur d'Algérie.

From the late 19th century, some of the physicians settled in Algeria and teachers at the School of Medicine of Algiers sought to map the extent of malaria in order to propose prophylactic measures against a disease that was widespread in the countryside of the colony. When the fight against malaria was organized in Algeria at the beginning of the 20th century, under the joint direction of the General Government and the Pasteur Institute, the Institute researchers needed to gather various types of data for determining epidemic indexes and preparing action programmes. The so-called «colonization physicians», responsible for delivering healthcare to colonials and natives in rural districts since the 1850s, appeared to be appropriate collaborators with the administration in the campaigns. The organizers of these campaigns also worked with agents quininisateurs (quinine distributors) and those involved in anti-larval measures, as well as with agencies responsible for roads and bridges and for water services, among others. However, there were soon repeated calls for them to be trained in the new bacteriology techniques. Advanced courses were also proposed to allow these practitioners to act as true and effective agents of the anti-malarial service, such as the 34-day course organized in 1932 by the Pasteur Institute of Algeria.

Double trouble: french colonialism in Morocco and the early history of the Pasteur institutes of Tangier and Casablanca (1895-1932)

Morocco was the last North African country in which a Pasteur institute was created, nearly two decades later than in Tunisia and Algeria. In fact, two institutes were opened, the first in Tangier in 1913 and the second in Casablanca in 1932. This duplication, far from being a measure of success, was the material expression of the troubles Pastorians had experienced in getting a solid foothold in the country since the late 19th century. These problems partly derived from the pre-existence of a modest Spanish-Moroccan bacteriological tradition, developed since the late 1880s within the framework of the Sanitary Council and Hygiene Commission of Tangier, and partly from the uncoordinated nature of the initiatives launched from Paris and Algiers. Although a Pasteur Institute was finally established, with Paul Remlinger as director, the failure of France to impose its colonial rule over the whole country, symbolized by the establishment of an international regime in Tangier, resulted in the creation of a second centre in Casablanca. While elucidating many hitherto unclear facts about the entangled origins of both institutes, the author points to the solidity of the previously independent Moroccan state as a major factor behind the troubled translation of Pastorianism to Morocco. Systematically dismissed or downplayed by colonial and postcolonial historiography, this solidity disrupted the French takeover of the country and therefore Pastorian expectations.

The Pasteur Institutes of Maghreb: divided memories, transversal history

Le choix de l'expression "histoire des instituts Pasteur du Maghreb" suggère un angle d'approche post-colonial et une interrogation sur le devenir commun de ces instituts. L'auteur propose une relecture transversale et comparative de leur passé, à la lumière des recherches récentes en sciences sociales et des données de l'histoire orale en cours de recueil. Les instituts Pasteur d'Alger, Tunis, Tanger et Casablanca ont été créés séparément à différentes périodes de la colonisation française, avec un objectif commun d'application des méthodes et des doctrines pasteuriennes et d'amélioration de la santé publique, mais ont connu des péripéties assez différentes pour justifier le terme de "mémoire divisée". Si la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses faisait partie de l'idéologie du pouvoir colonial, c'est la promesse de modernité liée à la "révolution pasteurienne", qui explique la pérennisation de l'entreprise et la survie présente des trois instituts dans les capitales du Maghreb. Au XXIe siècle, les instituts Pasteur du Maghreb sont confrontés comme la maison-mère de Paris, dans un contexte scientifique et politique changeant, à l'évolution de leur modèle original de fonctionnement, associant étroitement recherche-production-formation. Dans le cadre du Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur formalisé en 2003, se pose la question de l'autonomisation future d'un ensemble constitué par les instituts Pasteur du Maghreb? Emergeront-ils comme une entité à part entière, et quels liens entretiendront-ils au sein du réseau et avec le reste du monde, en particulier avec le monde arabe? Autant de questions à la fois politiques et scientifiques.

The choice of the expression «History of the Maghreb Pasteur institutes» is suggestive of a post-colonial approach and raises questions about the shared future of those centres. The author offers a comparative view of the past of the Institutes in Tunis, Algiers and Casablanca, relying on recent research in social sciences and the development of oral history. The Institutes were created separately at different times but more or less followed a single model linking research, production, and teaching. Fighting infectious diseases was part of the colonial heritage, but it was above all the promise of modernisation linked to participation in the Pastorian Revolution that explains why the three Institutes never discontinued their activities in the three Southern Mediterranean capitals. At the turn of the 21th century, the Pasteur Institutes of the Maghreb, in common with the mother Institute in Paris, were faced by new challenges in a changing political and epidemiological context. The International Pasteur Institutes Network was formally established in 2003. What is the future of the Maghreb Institutes? Will they form a separate entity? And what links will they create with the rest of the world, especially the Arab World? These questions are both scientific and political.

El arte al servicio de la ciencia: antecedentes artísticos para la impresión total del paisaje en Alexander von Humboldt

Se estudia la aportación de Alexander von Humboldt a la representación natural que se sitúa entre la visión científica y el sentimiento artístico. Humboldt es considerado como el creador de un "arte científico": la representación artística al servicio de la ciencia. Esta representación iconográfica de la botánica, la zoología y, ante todo, de los restos materiales de las culturas prehispánicas así como su expresión artística, proporcionó una nueva imagen de América que hasta entonces estaba ampliamente dominada por la fantasía europea. En el trabajo se exponen sus criterios para elaborar lo que se ha llamado un arte científico y se profundiza sobre su teoría de la impresión total de la naturaleza. Finalmente, se reflexiona sobre las referencias artísticas que Humboldt pudo incorporar a su sistema de representación y las influencias de éstas en su programa teórico.

This study addresses the contribution of Alexander von Humboldt to the natural representation that is situated between scientific vision and artistic sentiment. Humboldt is considered as the creator of a "scientific art", i.e., artistic representation in the service of science. This iconographic representation of botanic and zoological specimens, and above all of the material remains of Pre-Hispanic cultures and their artistic expression provided a new image of America that had previously been heavily dominated by European fantasy. This paper describes his criteria for developing what he called scientific art and explores his theory of the total representation of nature. Finally, it reflects on the artistic references that Humboldt was able to incorporate into his representation system and their influence on his theoretical program.

Antoni de Martí i Franquès, ¿un genio aislado?: la llegada del lamarckismo a Barcelona en la primera mitad del siglo XIX

Aunque Antoni de Martí i Franquès pasó la mayor parte de su vida en poblaciones alejadas de instituciones científicas, no fue por ello un genio aislado. Participó y presentó cinco memorias en academias de Barcelona, colaboró con algunos de los científicos más destacados de la ciudad, y mantuvo correspondencia con muchos otros. Su actividad en el campo de la ciencia era conocida especialmente en Cataluña, pero también en España y en cierta medida en Europa. Sus investigaciones le llevaron a defender planteamientos sobre la transformación de los organismos, la generación espontánea y la antigüedad de la Tierra, que en algunos puntos estaban en contradicción con las posiciones de la Iglesia católica española más ortodoxa, siendo el miedo a su reacción la causa de que publicara muy pocos textos científicos. No obstante, comunicó a sus amigos más íntimos sus investigaciones y sus conclusiones. Su aceptación de planteamientos muy próximos al evolucionismo de Lamarck, fue determinante para que otros autores como el naturalista Agustí Yáñez o el impresor Bergnes de las Casas, divulgaran estas ideas en Barcelona en la primera mitad del siglo XIX.

Although Antoni de Martí i Franquès spent most of his life in small towns far from scientific institutions, he was not an isolated genius. In fact, he was an active contributor to the Academies in Barcelona, to which he presented five scientific reports, and he collaborated with the most prominent scientists in the city and maintained correspondence with many others. He was especially renowned in Catalonia for his activities, but he was also well known in Spain and to some extent in the rest of Europe. His research led him to defend ideas on the transformation of organisms, spontaneous generation and the antiquity of the earth that very often contradicted orthodox positions of the Spanish Catholic Church, and he published very few scientific papers due to fear of its reaction. Nevertheless, he disseminated his research and conclusions to close colleagues and friends. His acceptance of proposals very close to the evolutionism of Lamarck were decisive in the spread of these ideas among other authors in Barcelona in the first half of the 19th century, including the naturalist Agustí Yáñez and the printer Bergnes de las Casas.

Expertos, química y medicina: Antonio Casares (1812-1888), José Salgado (1811-1890) y la controversia en torno al análisis de las aguas del balneario de Carratraca

En este artículo se estudia una controversia científica relacionada con el análisis químico de las aguas del balneario de Carratraca. El artículo discute la construcción de la autoridad científica de dos expertos españoles en aguas minerales a mediados del siglo XIX: Antonio Casares, catedrático de química en la Universidad de Santiago y José Salgado, el médico director del balneario. En este artículo se estudian los recursos utilizados por ambos expertos en la disputa y se muestra como muchas polémicas científicas no implicaban únicamente la discusión de cuestiones técnicas sino que respondían a los numerosos intereses económicos, sociales y personales de sus participantes. Además de estudiar el papel desempeñado por ambos expertos en la polémica, se considera la participación de otros actores, cada uno con distintos grados de conocimiento. Su intervención en el debate se reflejó tanto en medios especializados, memorias médicas, monografías, tratados químicos o artículos especializados como en la prensa general. Finalmente, el artículo muestra que la discusión sobre los métodos de análisis utilizados, los instrumentos utilizados y la interpretación de los resultados también implicaba la discusión de cuestiones como la formación y las capacidades de los expertos, sus privilegios y prerrogativas y su autoridad científica, que afectaban tanto al desarrollo de la controversia como a su finalización.

This article studies a scientific controversy on the chemical analysis of Carratraca Spa water and discusses the shaping of the scientific authority of two mid-19th century Spanish experts in mineral waters: Antonio Casares, professor of chemistry at the University of Santiago, and Jose Salgado, medical director of the Spa. It considers the resources employed by the two experts in the dispute and shows that much of the scientific controversy involved not only technical issues but also numerous economic, social and personal interests of the participants. Besides addressing the role played by both experts in the controversy, the article reports on the participation of other stakeholders with different levels of expertise. Their involvement in the dispute was reflected in specialized media, medical reports, special issues, chemical treatises, and specialized articles as well as in the general press. Finally, the article shows that discussions on analytical methods, instrument use or results interpretation also involved consideration of other issues, such as the training and skills of experts and their privileges, prerogatives and scientific authority, which affected the development and ending of the controversy.

La identidad del practicante a través de la prensa profesional: Aragón, 1885-1936

El objetivo de este trabajo es reconstruir la identidad profesional del practicante a través del análisis de tres revistas profesionales del colectivo en Zaragoza (Aragón). El discurso que hacían los practicantes sobre su profesión insistía en que de entre las auxiliares de la medicina, era la única que poseía un carácter técnico. Esta afirmación constituyó el elemento configurador clave de su identidad, contribuyendo a su vez a afianzar la legitimación moral y social del practicante así como su autoridad profesional. Este discurso fue construyéndose en contraposición al perfil, titulación e identidad de género de la otra profesión sanitaria auxiliar, la enfermera. A pesar de que los practicantes institucionalmente o a través de figuras destacadas, conformaron un discurso identitario profesional claro y desarrollaron ciertas infraestructuras profesionales, no alcanzaron a consolidar un proyecto colectivo de movilidad social ascendente que implicase una mejora en su estatus y el reconocimiento social de la profesión. Ello se tradujo en la construcción de una identidad grupal que en buena medida se caracterizó por una cierta apatía, frustración y desunión, elementos que terminaron por debilitar la profesión.

The objective of this study was to reconstruct the professional identity of the practicante (male assistant in medicine and surgery) by analyzing three professional journals of this collective in Zaragoza (Aragón). The discourse of practicantes on their profession insists that they were the only assistants for physicians with technical qualities. This affirmation constituted a key element in shaping their identity, contributing in turn to establish the moral and social legitimization of practicantes and their professional authority. This was constructed in counterpoint to the profile, qualifications and gender identity of the other professional healthcare assistant, the nurse. Despite achieving a clear discourse on their professional identity and developing certain professional infrastructures through the work of institutions and key figures, practicantes were not able to consolidate a collective project of upward social mobility that would improve their status and enhance social recognition of the profession. This led to the construction of a group identity that was largely characterized by apathy, frustration and disunion, elements that eventually weakened the profession.

Rafael Vilar Fiol (1885-1971) y el intento de fundación de una escuela de odontología en Valencia antes de la Guerra Civil

Durante el primer tercio del siglo XX, la profesión dental en España fue un terreno en disputa por varios colectivos sanitarios, entre los que se encontraban también los practicantes de cirugía y los protésicos dentales. La pugna más intensa se dio entre odontólogos y médicos estomatólogos, pugna que se hizo patente, en el caso de Valencia, en el marco del intento de creación de una escuela de odontología durante los primeros años de la II República. Pese a contar con el respaldo de la Facultad de Medicina y de las autoridades locales, el proyecto finalmente no se materializó debido a los intereses propios de los odontólogos valencianos en ejercicio y también por los intereses de la Escuela de Odontología de Madrid, esto es, de la Universidad Central. La institucionalización de la odontología en Valencia se limitó a la docencia de una asignatura aislada en el seno de la Facultad de Medicina, alejándose así de un modelo universitario que hubiera hecho posible la consolidación de la profesión dental en todas sus vertientes, más allá del puro ejercicio asistencial. La oposición al proyecto se fundamentó en buena medida en la campaña de desprestigio contra su principal impulsor, Rafael Vilar Fiol (1885-1971), un médico y odontólogo valenciano que poseía una notable formación académica y una sorprendente proyección internacional. Prácticamente desconocido por la historiografía, su condición de exiliado tras la Guerra Civil española, así como el fracaso del proyecto que encabezó en el seno de la Universidad de Valencia, podrían estar detrás del olvido que ahora se pretende desentrañar.

During the first third of the 20th century, the dental profession in Spain was disputed by several groups of healthcare professionals, including surgery practitioners and dental technicians. The most intense conflict was between dentists and stomatologists. In the case of Valencia, this struggle became apparent in the attempt to create a dental school during the first Spanish Republican period. This project was supported by the Faculty of Medicine and by the local authorities but was not implemented due to the special interests of practicing dentists and the School of Dentistry in the Central University of Madrid. The institutionalization of dentistry in Valencia was limited to the teaching of an isolated subject in the Faculty of Medicine, preventing the adoption of a university model that would have encouraged the consolidation of the dental profession in all its aspects, not solely in terms of improvements in dental care. Opposition to the project was largely based on a campaign to discredit its main promoter, Rafael Fiol Vilar (1885-1971). This Valencian doctor and dentist is virtually unknown by historians, but he had an excellent academic background and an extraordinary international projection for that time. He may have been ignored because of his exile after the Spanish Civil War and the failure of his project for the University of Valencia.

Expertise, accidents and hernias in the context of the right to health, Colombia 1915-1946

Para a maioria dos médicos, a apreciação da incapacidade em casos de acidentes de trabalho ou doenças profissionais era um assunto bastante relativo e juízo clínico, subjetivo e pouco satisfatório em questões jurídicas. No esquema da lei de acidentes de trabalho, eles tinham a função de julgar o nexo de causalidade entre o acidente e a doença, ao mesmo tempo que indicar o tipo de compensação econômica que devia receber o trabalhador. Para isto, deviam ir além do conhecimento científico e compreender a multiplicidade de fatores sociais que envolvem o infortúnio no mundo do trabalho. Neste artigo, analisam-se fontes colombianas da primeira metade do século XX, sobre questões como fisiologia do trabalho, fadiga, risco profissional, acidentes de trabalho, doenças profissionais, etc. Pretende-se avançar na compreensão da maneira como o campo de saber médico foi configurando uma espécie de deontologia pericial nos casos de acidente de trabalho, porém, se concentra nas hérnias, um dos estigmas típicos do mundo do trabalho.

For most physicians, the assessment of disability in cases of work accident or occupational disease is very relative matter, and clinical judgments are subjective and unsatisfactory in legal settings. Work accident legislation gives them the task of deciding on any causal links between accident and disease and indicating any economic compensation that should be awarded. They must therefore reach beyond their scientific knowledge to understand the multitude of social factors that underlie these problems in the world of work. In this article, we analyze Colombian sources from the first half of the 20th century on the physiology of labor, fatigue, professional risk, work accidents, occupational diseases, among other issues. The aim is to advance understanding of how the field of medical knowledge established an ethical approach for experts in cases of occupational accidents, focusing on hernias, typical misfortunes of the world of work.