The author deals with the medical-surgical panorama in Milan at the turn of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. The advances in knowledge acquired from the mid-nineteenth century on led to the emergence of medical and surgical specializations, as well as of new tools for the prevention and treatment of diseases, and the creation of a health and care network, on which it was possible to graft highly developed training opportunities. The example of an institution set up in Milan at the beginning of the twentieth century to treat the results of traumatic events is emblematic, not only because it is related to occupational accidents, but also because it explains the need to have specialists from various medical and surgical disciplines at the service of the entire population.