Clarifying the case of two people with the same name of Manoel de Abreu

Abstract

A curious episode in the history of Brazilian medicine is retold here, involving two physicians with the same name, between 1936 and 1937. The most important legacy left by Manoel Dias de Abreu was a method of radiography to diagnose tuberculosis – mass miniature radiography (abreugraphy). Manoel de Abreu Campanario wrote A medicina no interior (Medicine from the interior). The similarities between the two names created such confusion that some people believed that Campanario was a pseudonym. This case of mistaken identity led Manoel Dias de Abreu to send a consultation-statement to the Brazilian Society for Medicine and Surgery, which immediately created a commission to examine the case. The letter of clarification sent by Campanario resolved the issue.