Pedro Leandro Fariñas Mayo: erudite professor of Radiology, Preclear and Distinguished Son of Santa Clara

EDUMECENTRO 2022;14:e1862

RESEARCH PAPER

 

Pedro Leandro Fariñas Mayo: erudite professor of Radiology, Preclear and Distinguished Son of Santa Clara

Pedro Leandro Fariñas Mayo: erudito profesor de Radiología, Hijo Preclaro y Distinguido de Santa Clara

 

Leidelén Esquivel Sosa1* https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8062-8716
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Allende2 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2015-9812

 

1 Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences. Provincial Pediatric University Hospital "José Luis Miranda". Villa Clara. Cuba.
2 University of Medical Sciences of Havana. "Hermanos Ameijeiras" Clinical-Surgical Hospital. Havana. Cuba.

 

* Author for correspondence. Email: leidelen@infomed.sld.cu

 

 

ABSTRACT

Among those who made an important contribution to the development and teaching of Radiology in Cuba, Dr. Pedro Leandro Fariñas Mayo from Santa Clara stands out. Eminent radiologist who dedicated his life to assisting, researching and teaching this specialty. Multiple scientific societies, colleges and academies around the world made him an honorary member. He published more than 100 articles in Cuban and foreign journals and became a member of the editorial staff of the Cuban Medical Journal. In recognition, the city council of his hometown gave him the title of Prominent and Distinguished Son of the city of Santa Clara. It is the objective of the authors to communicate about his work so that current generations of Cuban professionals recognize its impact on Cuban medicine.

MeSH: history of medicine; life history traits; education, medical.

RESUMEN

Entre los que dieron un aporte importante al desarrollo y enseñanza de la Radiología en Cuba, se destaca el doctor santaclareño Pedro Leandro Fariñas Mayo. Radiólogo eminente que dedicó su vida a la asistencia, investigación y docencia de esa especialidad. Múltiples sociedades científicas, colegios y academias del mundo lo hicieron miembro honorario. Publicó más de 100 artículos en revistas cubanas y extranjeras y llegó a ser miembro del cuerpo de redactores de la Revista Médica Cubana. Como reconocimiento, el ayuntamiento de su ciudad natal le entregó el título de Hijo Preclaro y Distinguido de la ciudad de Santa Clara. Es objetivo de los autores comunicar sobre su obra a fin de que las actuales generaciones de profesionales cubanos reconozcan su repercusión en la medicina cubana.

DeSC: historia de la Medicina; rasgos de la historia de vida; educación médica.

 

 

Submitted: 07/02/2021
Accepted: 14/04/2022

 

 

Illustrious son of the city of Santa Clara, Dr. Pedro Leandro Fariñas, of humble origins, was born on October 19, 1892. He completed his first studies in his own hometown and then graduated with outstanding results in Medicine in 1917 at the University of Havana.(1) He began his medical work at the Estate of Dependents of that city where he became interested in Radiology, and already, a year before graduating from that specialty, he was appointed head of department.(1,2)

After his graduation, he achieved the position of director of the Radiology department at that hospital, joining the first ones who investigated the science that emerged and developed at that time. He was the technical manager of the Radiology and Physiotherapy Department of the Calixto García "General" University Hospital from 1920 until his death.(1,3,4)

Its first publication was in 1916, and dealt with the radiographic examination of the stomach and bone tuberculosis. Important articles were published later on interesting research related to pneumoperitoneum, cholecystography, ventriculography and urogram, which gave him national and international recognition.(1)

He devoted great efforts to the study of chest diseases; Proof of this are the innovative publications on these topics:(3)

  • Radiological study of the heart. (1921). Awarded at the V National Medical Congress
  • Notes on the current status of radiotherapy in deep-seated cancer. (1922)
  • The triangular shadows of the base of the lung. (1935)
  • Radiological examination of the respiratory tree. (1947)

He was a pioneer in the use of radiological studies of the abdominal organs in Cuba. He published his research very early in his work as a radiologist:(3,5)

  • Pneumoperitoneum. (1921)
  • Gastric and duodenal ulcer. Its surgical treatment. (1927)
  • Comparative study of the diagnostic value of biliary drainage and cholecystography in chronic non-calculous cholecystitis. (1934)

Already with a certain maturity typical of years of experience, in 1935 he began numerous serial studies on bronchopneumography in bronchial tumors, pulmonary suppurative processes, etc.(1)

He described his own very interesting techniques of serial bronchography, atomization bronchography, tomography, aortography and venography. All this allowed him to make important contributions in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, bronchial carcinoma, pulmonary, bronchial, and mediastinal suppurative diseases and cardiovascular diseases.(2)

His participation in the III International Cancer Congress was marked by the presentation of some of these original radiological techniques, which proposed new methods for diagnosing lung neoplasms.(3)

However, his most important contribution occurred when in 1940: Pedro Leandro Fariñas laid the foundations for abdominal aortography, when he used the dissection of the femoral artery with the introduction of an ascending pyelography catheter and progressed to the abdominal aorta, where in the desired site was injected with the contrast, thus drawing the arteries that are branches of it. This very original method was improved by Pierce in 1951, and would not reach its climax until 1953, when Seldinger made a transcendental modification used until current days.(6)

This novel technique postulated by Fariñas was presented to the world through the publication A New Technique for the Arteriographic Examination of the Abdominal Aorta and its Branches, presented at the Eighth American Scientific Congress held in May 1940.(7)

His profound knowledge made him a great expert in radiographic techniques and their interpretation; He was recognized as a consulting professor at various hospitals, which allowed him to participate in postgraduate teaching at universities in Havana and Mexico, and he taught courses in bronchography and clinical radiology in Boston and Havana. Since 1933 he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Radiology at the National University of Mexico.(2)

In 1926, together with other doctors, he founded the Radiology and Physiotherapy Society of Cuba, of which he was its first president and Honorary Member.(1) He also belonged to other societies in which he also had fruitful participation:(1,8)

  • President of the Society of Clinical Studies of Havana
  • Member of the National Society of Surgery
  • Academic of number of the Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana
  • Full Member Geographical Society of Cuba

His level was such that multiple societies, colleges and academies made him an honorary member, including the American Society of Roentgen Rays, the American College of Radiology, the Inter-American College of Radiology -of which he became its second president- and other societies in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. He was a corresponding academician of the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico.(1,2,4)

He was one of the founders of the American College of Chest Physicians, where he was a member for more than 10 years; in 1949 he was elected president of his chapter in Cuba. Driven by this fact, he directed several postgraduate courses on thoracic diseases that marked a turning point in postgraduate medical education in Cuba.(2)

His very high recognition made him worthy of positions in all the congresses related to his specialty at that time.

Despite his tireless work as a radiologist in Havana and other major world capitals, Fariñas dedicated efforts to develop his hometown, Santa Clara. Knowing that the largest public health institution was not in line with the scientific movement and lacked essential resources for its development, he was motivated to donate 1,500 pesos to equip the Radiology Room of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, which was officially inaugurated on the 18th of June 1939, which bore the name of its benefactor. This not only responded to the altruistic gesture but also glorious perpetuation of the name of Fariñas in that ward. This act also led to the delivery of the title of Prominent and Distinguished Son of the City of Santa Clara granted by the City Council. Since that date there has been the conviction that the history of medicine in Cuba cannot be written if the name of this son from Santa Clara is suppressed.(9,10)

Pedro Leandro Fariñas died on April 26, 1951, recognized as one of the most prominent radiologists in Latin America.(1,3) Immediately, in his honor, on May 15 of the same year, he requested to rename his practice as the Institute of Radiology. "Dr. Pedro Leandro Fariñas" located at Calle 23 No. 411 in Vedado.(4,10)

After his death, the National Medical College of Cuba instituted a prize in his honor that is awarded to the best work published during the year in Cuban medical journals.(4)

Bronchographic studies, especially those that refer to the early diagnosis of bronchogenic lung cancer, will go down in history; however, his technique described for abdominal aortography is no doubt, one of the most important and transcendental facts that accredit Cuban radiology in the world.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

1. Del Regato JA. In Memoriam Pedro L. Farinas, MD. 18921951. Radiology [Internet]. 1951 [citado 14/12/2020];57(1):[aprox. 2 p.]. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1148/57.1.110

2. Navarette A. Pedro L. Fariñas. 1892-1951. Diseases of the Chest. 1951;20(4):449-51.

3. Madrigal Lomba R. La radiología. Apuntes históricos. Rev Med Electron [Internet]. 2009 [citado 14/12/2020];31(4):[aprox. 5 p.]. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/pdf/rme/v31n4/spu19409.pdf

4. Erba C. La Radiología en Cuba en la primera mitad del siglo XX. Milán, Italia: Gaceta Sanitaria; 1956.

5. Dulzaides Serrate M, Graupera Arando E, Cabeiro Gil E. Bibliografía Cubana 1921-1936. Tomo II. (1925-1928). La Habana: Editorial Orbe; 1977.

6. Pereiras Costa R, Llerena Rojas LR, Aragonés Sotolongo E. La policateterización sistemática en las aortografías retrógradas. Rev Cub Med [Internet]. 1968 [citado 14/12/2020];7(2):[aprox. 10 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.revmedicina.sld.cu/index.php/med/article/view/823/678

7. Procedings of the Eighth American Scientific Congress. Publichealth and Medicine. Vol 4. Deparment of State Washington. Ed. Oehser PH; 1942.

8. Ramos Guadalupe LE. Sociedad Geográfica de Cuba. Medioambiente y sociedad en la primera mitad del siglo XX. Rev Anales de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba [Internet]. 2015 [citado 18/12/2020];5(2):[aprox. 50 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.revistaccuba.cu/index.php/revacc/article/view/215/215

9. Álvarez SR. Del homenaje al doctor Fariñas. Periódico La Publicidad. Año 35. 10 de junio 1939: 4

10. Esparza O. Crónica. Villa Clara Médica. 1939;7(4):203-7.

 

 

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

 

 

Author´s contribution

Leidelén Esquivel Sosa and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Allende: They carried out the documentary review and preparation of the final report.

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