Abstract

SANCHEZ DELGADO, Marcelo. The "rejuvenation" and beginnings of Chilean endocrinology in the 1920s. Dynamis [online]. 2016, vol.36, n.1, pp.191-209. ISSN 2340-7948.

Rejuvenation was a chapter of critical importance for the worldwide development of endocrinology in the 1920s. This work explores the acceptance of these techniques in Chile. Starting in the late 19th century, the Chilean Medical Journal (Revista Médica de Chile) incorporated references to experiments with endocrine gland preparations that were being conducted in Europe at the time. An appropriation of the experiments by the Austrian Eugen Steinach began in 1920, with prominent figures such as the Italian professor Juan Noe Crevani and the young Chilean student Ottmar Wilhelm. Between 1922 and 1924, Wilhelm developed a series of experiments on dogs, bulls, pigs, rats and Welfare Board patients through the so-called Steinach operation, which consisted of the sectioning of the efferent channel in one of the testicles. Professor Noe’s scientific patronage policy and Wilhelm’s strategy of succession in the field led the latter to hold a chair in the new School of Medicine of Universidad de Concepción at the age of 25. From this position, the figure of Wilhelm was fundamental for the development of a line of endocrinological research that was able to position Universidad de Concepción as a scientific development centre, which was strengthened by the arrival of another disciple of Steinach in Chile, the Latvian professor Alejandro Lipschütz.

Keywords : endocrinology; rejuvenation; eugenics; Chile; Ottmar Wilhelm; Juan Noé; Revista Médica de Chile.

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