The need for greater international collaboration is becoming increas. ingly clear. Practically every nation or people has, in addition to its own characteristics and history, its own medical tradition. Methods and ways of thinking that are successfully established in one place may not be accepted in another for some time. The medical tradition and training in different countries can take quite different forms. What would our present knowledge be - Without the creative, spontaneous ideas and contributions from the romance countries? - Without the opportunity of research, as it is practised on...