[Research and surgery]

From the Second World War onwards an amazing development in science and clinical & surgery practice has taken place: antibiotics, blood storage, cardiac surgery, organ and tissue transplant, complete joint replacement, total intravenous nutrition or minimally invasive surgery. Paradoxically, during the last two decades of the XXth century, social popularity of doctors has decreased at the same time of some important changes: increases in costs of medical attention, trials against medical mistakes, some doubts on the real role of Academic Public Hospitals and rising in the importance of alternative medicine. Increasing complexity of biomedical research in the continuous changing age of molecular biology has promoted an increasing scepticism regarding clinics and surgeons are able to keep on contributing to medical advances. The study of the contemporaneous History of Medicine demonstrates that some of the more significant achievements have been accomplished by surgeons. Undoubtedly Science and Clinics must get adapted to these times of change and persist in generating important findings. Current Clinical and surgical practice is completely determined by yesterdays' scientific research; tomorrow won't be different.