[Counting to cure: statistics and the medical community in Argentina, 1880-1940].

The article analyzes the links between the professional medical community and the institutionalization of statistics in Argentina in 1880-1940. It begins with the initial period of medical and demographic statistics in Argentina, which bore ties to late nineteenth-century hygienist ideals and projects. It then describes the later organization and consolidation of a state agency responsible for producing these data, which, interestingly enough, was headed by a woman for several decades. The challenges encountered in training technical staff to produce public statistics are also examined. Based on information found in specialized magazines, the analysis likewise explores the tensions and controversies that arose within the medical community over the use of the numerical method.