The history of aviation medicine in Argentina

Ascents in balloons were first performed in Buenos Aires in 1855, and this activity was later regulated through the "Argentine Air Club," founded in 1908, whose Vice President, Jorge Newbery, subsequently became officially known as the "Founder of Argentine Aeronautics." Airplanes appeared and the first pilots' licenses were granted on June 17, 1910. Medical advice was given for such feats as crossing The Andes Cordillera in a balloon in 1915. Medical requirements for flying activities led to the creation of the Psychophysical Fitness Center in 1922, the first of its kind in Argentina and South America. There, selection and periodical check-ups were performed according to medical standards prepared by Agesilao Milano, M.D., the Founder of Aviation Medicine in Argentina. Sanitary aviation began in 1911, and was formally organized in 1940. The first paper in aviation medicine was published in 1924. Teaching and research in aviation medicine started in 1933, and continued after the creation of the National Institute of Aviation Medicine in 1945, taking as its basic objective the physical fitness qualification for all flying activities. The Institute has been recognized as a University Establishment and rules Argentine national policy in aviation medicine.