Historia de la dermatología en Costa Rica

introduction: throughout medical history, dermatology has made great contributions, although for our country there is little data concerning the contributions made by the excellent dermatologists in costa rican public health care. materials and methods: in order to obtain this information we interviewed the specialists and family members of specialists mentioned in this document. we studied memoria of medical congresses and publications found in national and international magazines. results: clinical dermatology in costa rica, began in the hospital san juan de dios. dr. emilio echeverria aguilar was the first specialist in dermatology in costa rica, and the specialist who had the greatest influence on tropical dermatology was dr. antonio pe？a chavarría. dr. julio cesar ovares arias, stands out as the first president of the colegio de médicos y cirujanos and the first medical director of the caja costarricense de seguro social. dr. elfrén solano aguilar was the first professor in dermatology at the university of costa rica. dr. orlando jaramillo antillón created the first program for postgraduate studies in dermatology. conclusions: dermatology has changed a lot. it began with the fight against tropical disease and nutritional illnesses, and in the present we are fighting an alarming increase in skin cancer, autoimmune diseases, the syndrome of acquired immunodeficiency, and illnesses caused by side effects of wrong medications having been prescribed. we have learned from those that have preceded us in this specialty, and we should learn more in order to be able to practice the science and art of modern dermatology