[Urologic work and biography of Prof. Rafael Alcalá Santaella (1896-1959). Historical document analysis].

Objectives: We find that Urology at the end of the 20th century was a consolidated speciality as a result of years of evolution and development, and the studies and works of authors whose contributions are considered today the basements of our speciality. So we think that Urology should be understood with its historical references, because, as Aristotle said "... thinks are better understood when one has got to clearly see how they were formed..." Numerous specialists contributed to this; among them we can cite Prof. Rafael Alcala Santaella, the object of this bibliographic and scientific works compilation paper.

Methods: We reviewed all his scientific works. Original articles have been obtained from Medicina Ibera, Revista Española de Cirugía y Urología, and Cirugía, Urología y Ginecología. His most important urologic work is Clinic Urology (1942), divided in 3 volumes. For his biography we used the biographic and bibliographic historical source of Spanish urology over the 20th-century and direct family members interviews.

Results: He analyzed topics as important as voiding disorders and the study of urine pyuria. He gave special importance to the study of prostatic pathology, its diagnosis by means of cystourethrography, and the modification of surgical techniques, as well as the results of urinary diversions performed in his department.

Conclusions: Due to his extensive scientific and technical contributions he is one of the most outstanding figures of Valencia's Urology over the first half of the 20th century, together with Rafael Molla Rodrigo and Nicasio Benlloch Giner.