A debate over the link between Salvador Allende, Max Westenhöfer, and Rudolf Virchow: contributions to the history of social medicine in Chile and internationally

Abstract

Abstract In the history of Latin American social medicine, numerous works have presented a harmonious link between Rudolf Virchow, Max Westenhöfer, and Salvador Allende, which establishes the origin of ideas of Latin American social medicine in a prestigious European source, represented by Virchow. A key to that story is that Allende was a student of Westenhöfer, a disciple of Virchow who lived in Chile three times (1908-1911, 1929-1932, and 1948-1957). Based on primary sources and contextual data, this article problematizes the relationship between Allende and Westenhöfer, and questions the influence of Virchow in Chilean social medicine.

Keywords

• Salvador Allende (1908-1973
• Max Westenhöfer (1871-1957
• Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902
• social medicine
• Chile