The XV International Congress of Medicine (Lisbon, April 1906): 120 Years Later

Abstract

The XV International Congress of Medicine, held in Lisbon in April 1906, was the most important international scientific event ever organized in Portugal prior to the First World War, bringing together more than 2,000 international participants, not including accompanying persons. Many of the leading figures in world medicine were present. This congress provided Portuguese physicians with direct contact with the most advanced medical knowledge of the time. This article revisits the circumstances that led to the organization of the congress, highlights its scientific and social program and discusses its impact on the development and internationalization of Portuguese medicine. One hundred and twenty years later, this congress remains a landmark in the history of Portuguese medicine.