Urology in San Diego—Its History in “America's Finest City”

Abstract

Within a relatively short time, San Diego has seen a wealth of urologic developments, from management of cryptorchidism to mapping of testicular lymphatic drainage and elucidation of the bladder-surface glycosaminoglycan layer. The origins of modern San Diego date back to the 19th century. For the 20 years before the Mexican-American War in 1846, there was no resident physician in San Diego.1 The first American doctors to arrive were the United States military surgeons. After the Battle of San Pasqual (December 1846), injured troops requiring care were boarded with private families in town, giving surgeons the opportunity to visit them.