[Social medicine and medical education]

The author reviews the establishment of social security in Brazil from its origins in 1923 to the establishment of the National Institute of Medical Care and Social Welfare in 1977. He highlights the salient developments in the history of medical education in his country and analyzes the contributions of the welfare system to the training of the physician, particularly through student training in hospitals. The author is of the view that the introduction of social medicine into medical education, including the articulation of social welfare with the university hospitals, would be most salutary for the programs of the national health system.