PROFESSOR PUELMA,HECTOR,ORREGO, MD - IN-M EMORIAM

Professor Hector Orrego Puelma was born in 1897 and deceased in 1995, in Santiago, Chile. After completion of his studies at the School of M edicine, University of Chile (1922), be followed an outstanding career in Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, becoming a founder of this medical specialty in Chile. After obtaining consecutive fellowships in Europe (France in 1927 and then Germany, Italy and England) be return ed to the University of Chile becoming assistant and then full profess or of Tisiology (1934). He was the founder of the Chilean Thoracic Soc iety (1930) and the editor of the first Chilean Journal of Tuberculosi s and Respiratory Diseases (1935). A very prolific author, be publishe d more than 200 articles in medical journals and he wrote the first Ch ilean textbook on tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (1932-1934) as well as an autobiographical novel. He was chairman of the tuberculosi s and respiratory diseases' clinics in several hospitals in Santiago. In 1954 and after 15 years of efforts he was able to found the Thoraci c Hospital, a national center for tuberculosis and respiratory disease s. He was a consultant for antituberculosis programs of the Ministry o f Public Health. After being designated the first director of the Grad uate School Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, be played a cruc ial role in leading the systematic training of physicians from Chile a nd from other Latin-American countries in several clinical specialties . Because of his merits and achievements he was honoured not only by C hilean academic and governmental institutions but also by internationa l medical organizations and foreign governments.