The past twenty-five years have witnessed the publication of a number of studies of the diffusion of Darwinism in Latin America and of its impact on political and social ideas.¹Less attention has been paid to the influence of Darwinism on the ideas of Latin American scientists and physicians, at least in the case of the Andean countries. The lack of attention paid to these countries is in part explained by the fact that the War of the Pacific, which consumed the energies of Peru, Bolivia and Chile between 1879 y 1883, estranged this region from the rest of the world just when the Darwin debate was at its height. The occupation of Lima during the war caused the paralysis of Peruvian academic and scientific activities.