La universidad en el desarrollo de la cirugía torácica española

The present article analyzes the figures of the university professors who, from 1911, formed part of one of the basic pillars in the development of “Spanish Thoracic Surgery”. At that time, there was a certain amount of infighting between general and specialized surgery, which was resolved by allowing specialization after a period of training in general surgery. Universities should not be denied the great merit of having produced well-trained surgeons with a broad general foundation who would later choose a specialty. The figures of Ricardo Lozano Monzón, Francisco Martín Lagos, José Gascó, Benjamín Narbona, Carlos Carbonell Antolí, Rafael Vara López, Alfonso de la Fuente Chaos and José M. Beltrán de Heredia with their previous training, corresponding precursors and respective schools are described. Their teaching, surgical practice, and scientific activity are also described. A future article based on the contribution of Valencia to the specialty of general thoracic surgery is also outlined.