[Bonferroni in biomedical research].

The statistical methods for multiple comparisons are described in the paper. The pros and cons of Bonferroni correction versus more recent methods such as Holm correction are outlined. The lack of scientific consensus on the methods to be used in the different areas of biomedical research is shown by the disagreements, often quite harsh, between different statisticians. The papers presented at the meeting held in September 2001 in memory of Carlo Emilio Bonferroni, Rector of the Istituto Superiore di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali di Bari from 1925 to 1933 are summarized. In the meeting there was the historical reconstruction of the Bonferroni correction, from Boole (1850) to Olive Dunn (1959). In the meeting there was also a presentation concerning Bonferroni's ideas (he was a moderate frequentist) in the field of probability, appreciated even by a strong Bayesian such as de Finetti in his memorial talk given in 1961, one year after Bonferroni's death.