[Degeneration theory and clinical psychiatry in restoration Spain (Spanish)]

Spanish historiography on degenerationism has focused on topics such as criminality, alcoholism, or its influence on naturalistic literature. From this perspective the lack of studies on how this theory affected psychiatrists in Spain is noteworthy. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between clinical psychiatry and degenerationism. We stress three topics: morbid heredity and the nature of degeneration, physical and psychic stigmas, and the boundaries of degenerationism. To this end we examine different sources that include articles in the medical press, pamphlets and psychiatric treatises.