Fernando E. Rodriguez Vargas
Encyclopedia
Major Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas, DDS
(February 24, 1888–October 21, 1932) was an odontologist
(dentist), scientist
and a Major in the U.S. Army who discovered the bacteria
which causes dental caries
.
to Luciano Rodriguez and Dolores Vargas. There he received both his primary education. Adjuntas did not have a high school until 1950, therefore he attended high school in the City of Ponce
where the other students from Adjuntas went. After he graduated from high school, he applied and was accepted in the University of Puerto Rico
where he took paramedic courses and earned his teachers certificate. He then went to work as a United States Internal Revenue Service inspector and later as a Spanish
translator for the United States War Department. In 1910, Rodríguez Vargas applied and attended Georgetown University
, in Washington, D.C.
where he earned his DDS degree in 1913. From 1913 to 1915, Rodríguez Vargas had his private practice in Washington, D.C. In 1915, he joined the United States Indian Medical Services, and was assigned to Tucson, Arizona
located in the southwest region of the United States. During this time he studied the mottled enamel situation which was affecting Native Americans
.
. Rodríguez Vargas was assigned to the Army Dental Reserve Corps and attended a course at the Medical Officer's Training Camp at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia
before being sent overseas.
The U.S. Congress had already declared war on Germany when Rodríguez Vargas was sent to the United Kingdom
. On August 1919, he was reassigned to San Juan, Puerto Rico
and served in Camp Las Casas
. During his service in Puerto Rico he met and married Maria Anita Padilla. Rodríguez Vargas, who promoted to Captain on September 8, and his wife had a son which they named Roberto.
where he continued his investigations in the field of bacteriology
. Rodríguez Vargas was there as an educator and investigator of the bacteriological aspects of dental diseases. His research led him to discover the bacteria
which causes dental caries
. According to his investigations, three types of the Lactobacillus
species, during the process of fermentation, are the causes of cavities. In December 1922, he published an original and fundamental work on the specific bacteriology
of dental caries. His findings were published in the December issue of the Military Dental Journal titled "The Specific Study of the Bacteriology of Dental Cavities". Rodríguez Vargas also developed the techniques and methods of analysis. On September 28, 1928, Rodriguez Vargas published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" his findings in the effectiveness of Iodine and other chemical agents as disinfectants of the mucous membranes of the mouth. Since then, other scientists have used the findings of his investigations as the basis in the study of the bacteriology of dental caries.
Rodríguez Vargas earned a Bachelor of Science
degree from Georgetown University, in 1924 where he was an Associate Professor of Bacteriology in the Ental School. On September 14, 1929 , he was promoted to the rank of Major
.
, Maryland
, which would turn out to be his last assignment.
Major Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas became ill with pneumonia
and was hospitalized at the Walter Reed Hospital for treatment. On October 21, 1932, Rodríguez Vargas died of complications at the age of 44. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
in Section 6 Site 8429. He was survived by his widow and son.
and dental caries.
On August 31, 1944, the War Department of the United States issued General Order No. 71 which renamed the Army General Hospital of Fort Brooke located in the former Ballajá Barracks
(in the grounds of the Fort San Felipe del Morro
) in Old San Juan, the Rodriguez (161st) General Hospital, in honor of Major Rodriguez Vargas.
Rodríguez Vargas is the only Puerto Rican honored with a plaque and bust situated in front of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. In the 1950s, the Puerto Rico College of Dental Surgeons honored Rodriguez Vargas with the establishment of the "Dr. Fernando E. Rodriguez Scientific Contest".
DDS
D.D.S. refers to the academic degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery.DDS may refer to:-Computer and information science:*Data Design System, DDS-CAD software vendor*Data Description Specifications, AS400 programming...
(February 24, 1888–October 21, 1932) was an odontologist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
(dentist), scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and a Major in the U.S. Army who discovered the bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
which causes dental caries
Dental caries
Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or a cavity, is an irreversible infection usually bacterial in origin that causes demineralization of the hard tissues and destruction of the organic matter of the tooth, usually by production of acid by hydrolysis of the food debris accumulated on the...
.
Early years
Fernando Emilio Rodríguez Vargas was born in Adjuntas, Puerto RicoAdjuntas, Puerto Rico
Adjuntas is a small mountainside municipality in Puerto Rico located central midwest of the island on the Central Mountain range , north of Yauco, Guayanilla and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Yauco; and west of Ponce. Adjuntas is spread over 16 wards and Adjuntas Pueblo...
to Luciano Rodriguez and Dolores Vargas. There he received both his primary education. Adjuntas did not have a high school until 1950, therefore he attended high school in the City of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
where the other students from Adjuntas went. After he graduated from high school, he applied and was accepted in the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
where he took paramedic courses and earned his teachers certificate. He then went to work as a United States Internal Revenue Service inspector and later as a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
translator for the United States War Department. In 1910, Rodríguez Vargas applied and attended Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where he earned his DDS degree in 1913. From 1913 to 1915, Rodríguez Vargas had his private practice in Washington, D.C. In 1915, he joined the United States Indian Medical Services, and was assigned to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
located in the southwest region of the United States. During this time he studied the mottled enamel situation which was affecting Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
Military service
On August 16, 1917, he joined the United States Army and on September 14, he was commissioned a First LieutenantFirst Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
. Rodríguez Vargas was assigned to the Army Dental Reserve Corps and attended a course at the Medical Officer's Training Camp at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
before being sent overseas.
The U.S. Congress had already declared war on Germany when Rodríguez Vargas was sent to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. On August 1919, he was reassigned to San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
and served in Camp Las Casas
Camp Las Casas
Camp Las Casas was a United States military instalation established in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1904. The camp was the main training base of the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry," On January 15, 1899, the military government changed the name of Puerto Rico to Porto Rico a segregated U.S...
. During his service in Puerto Rico he met and married Maria Anita Padilla. Rodríguez Vargas, who promoted to Captain on September 8, and his wife had a son which they named Roberto.
Scientific work
On February 18, 1921, Rodriguez Vargas was sent to Washington, D.C. and assigned to the Army Dental CorpsArmy Medical Department (United States)
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army – known as the AMEDD – comprises the Army's six medical Special Branches of officers and medical enlisted soldiers. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the...
where he continued his investigations in the field of bacteriology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
. Rodríguez Vargas was there as an educator and investigator of the bacteriological aspects of dental diseases. His research led him to discover the bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
which causes dental caries
Dental caries
Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or a cavity, is an irreversible infection usually bacterial in origin that causes demineralization of the hard tissues and destruction of the organic matter of the tooth, usually by production of acid by hydrolysis of the food debris accumulated on the...
. According to his investigations, three types of the Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive facultative anaerobic or microaerophilic rod-shaped bacteria. They are a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group, named as such because most of its members convert lactose and other sugars to lactic acid. They are common and usually benign...
species, during the process of fermentation, are the causes of cavities. In December 1922, he published an original and fundamental work on the specific bacteriology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
of dental caries. His findings were published in the December issue of the Military Dental Journal titled "The Specific Study of the Bacteriology of Dental Cavities". Rodríguez Vargas also developed the techniques and methods of analysis. On September 28, 1928, Rodriguez Vargas published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" his findings in the effectiveness of Iodine and other chemical agents as disinfectants of the mucous membranes of the mouth. Since then, other scientists have used the findings of his investigations as the basis in the study of the bacteriology of dental caries.
Rodríguez Vargas earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from Georgetown University, in 1924 where he was an Associate Professor of Bacteriology in the Ental School. On September 14, 1929 , he was promoted to the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
.
Later years
Rodríguez Vargas was a member of the District of Columbia Dental Society, the International Association of Dental Research and a fellow of the American College of Dentists. In 1925, he was assigned to the General Dispensary, U.S. Army in Boston, Massachusetts until August 1926, when he was reassigned to Holabird Quartermaster Depot, BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, which would turn out to be his last assignment.
Major Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas became ill with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and was hospitalized at the Walter Reed Hospital for treatment. On October 21, 1932, Rodríguez Vargas died of complications at the age of 44. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in Section 6 Site 8429. He was survived by his widow and son.
Honors
On March 16, 1940, the American College of Dentists presented a plaque to the Army Medical Service Graduate School (now Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) in memory of Army dental officer Major Fernando E. Rodriguez for his pioneer research showing the relationship between the Lactobacillus acidophilusLactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus acidophilus is a species in the genus Lactobacillus. L. acidophilus is a homofermentative species, fermenting sugars into lactic acid, which grows readily at rather low pH values and has an optimum growth temperature of 37 °C . L...
and dental caries.
On August 31, 1944, the War Department of the United States issued General Order No. 71 which renamed the Army General Hospital of Fort Brooke located in the former Ballajá Barracks
Ballajá Barracks
Ballajá Barracks is a military barracks located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was built from 1854 to 1864 for the Spanish troops established in the island and their families.- Construction :...
(in the grounds of the Fort San Felipe del Morro
Fort San Felipe del Morro
Also known as Fort San Felipe del Morro or Morro Castle, is a 16th-century citadel located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.- Rundown :Lies on the northwestern-most point of the islet of San Juan, Puerto Rico...
) in Old San Juan, the Rodriguez (161st) General Hospital, in honor of Major Rodriguez Vargas.
Rodríguez Vargas is the only Puerto Rican honored with a plaque and bust situated in front of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. In the 1950s, the Puerto Rico College of Dental Surgeons honored Rodriguez Vargas with the establishment of the "Dr. Fernando E. Rodriguez Scientific Contest".
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican military personnel
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- Puerto Ricans in World War IPuerto Ricans in World War IPuerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in every conflict in which the United States has been involved since World War I. One of the consequences of the Spanish-American War was that Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States...