Peregrinaciones a las fuentes de la medicina clásica / A journey to the foundations of classical medicine

The author narrates his trips, between 1951 and 2006, to the main historical sites of antique medicine, where physicians of pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico and Peru, Egypt, Greco Latin culture and Islamic civilizations, lived. The trip ends with a visit to medieval European medicine before Renaissance. A description of the main historical sites and the features of these medical and sanitary cultures is made. In antique civilizations, diseases were considered a punishment of pagan deities. Supernatural and magical influences were decisive in medical practice. The Greco Latin culture of Galen and Hippocrates freed manhood from these causes of diseases and gave a rational basis to the practice of medicine. The Islamic civilization allowed the transmission of Greco Latin culture to medieval Europe. This permitted the renaissance of European creativity and the foundation of modern scientific medicine in the sixteenth century. The author highlights the main virtues of classical Greco Latin medicine, that are the foundations of humanistic thoughts that will restrin the technological revolution of modern medicine.

Evolución de las universidades chilenas 1981-2004 / The evolution of Chilean universities from 1981 to 2004

In 1981, a supreme decree allowed the creation of private universities in Chile. As a consequence, 50 new universities were created in one decade, under the surveillance of the Council for Superior Education. This paper analyzes the evolution of this expansion process, that resulted in an admission of 370,000 students to 60 universities along the country, during 2004. At the moment, 42% of the universities, designed as traditional, receive state financing and 58% are private. Twenty six percent are owned by the state, 52% are secular and 22% are confessional. The 25 traditional universities are complex organizations of a high academic level. New private universities are only devoted to teaching and some have obtained their autonomy. Some have improved the quality of their academic staff, perform research and impart doctorate degrees. However, most are small and with a limited academic staff. Traditional universities are stratified in a superior level. Eight private universities and some regional institutions, that are becoming complex and performing research activities, are stratified in a middle level. Two thirds of the private universities are in the lower level. The expansion of superior education is a sign of the social and cultural progress that Chile has experienced.