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Social History of Medicine 1997 10(2):221-242; doi:10.1093/shm/10.2.221
© 1997 by Society for the Social History of Medicine
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Articles

Scientific Rhetoric in the Consolidation of a Therapeutic Monopoly. Medical Discourses of Spanish Radiotherapists, 1895–1936

ROSA MARÍA MEDINA DOMÉNECH*

*Historia de la Ciencia, Facultad de Medicina Avda. Madrid 11, E-18012 Granada, Spain

SUMMARY This paper analyses the medical discourses produced by the pioneers of Spanish radiotherapy in order to market their new therapy and to establish their monopoly. Social negotiation (persuasion and consensus) involved radiologists arguing against surgeons, gynaecologists, dermatologists and otorhinolaryngologists (ENT specialists). The arguments revolved around the scientific foundations of radiotherapy, the ability to control the doses, and the value of doctors' clinical experience. Radiotherapists argued that the difficulties of their practice necessitated special expertise; they negotiated over the range of use of radiotherapy, beginning with palliative applications, and going on to establish wider claims of advantage over existing treatments.

Keywords: radiotherapy; radium; X-rays; Spain; medical specialization; therapeutic monopoly; scientific rhetoric


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