We thank A.G. Farji-Brener, F. Chinchilla, and G. Barrantes for their assistance in the design, analysis and interpretation of this project. E. Triana provided great suggestions to improve the project, as well as field assistance. We thank the Organization for Tropical Studies and Las Cruces Biological Station for providing housing, logistics, transportation and financial support during this project. V.R. Townsend, Jr., Joel Wixson, Elizabeth C. Braun, and two anonymous reviewers provided useful comments to improve this project. The Biology Department of the UPR at Rio Piedras provided financial support to CF. The Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia provided financial support to DG-R, and the Center For Conservation Education and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and CONCYTEC for the financial support to FC-R.

The case of a 16 years-old patient with a mild from of Ebstein{s malformation of the tricuspid valve is presented. The disease was discovered on account of an infectious illness for which the patient came to the hospital. The diagnosis was made on clinical, radiologic and electrocardiographic grounds, and confirmed by the intracavitary electrocardiography in the diagnosis of this disease.

Twentyfive patients with cardiomyopathy coming from different regions of Peru have been studied the majority (22) at the Hospital Dos de Mayo in the city of Lima. Twentythree were males and two females, and their ages were between 13 and 65 years. Twelve patients belonged to the idiopathic cardiomyopathy, 8 were related to alcoholism, 3 belonged to the familiar type, one case was a of post-partum cardiomyopathy and another of endomyocardial fibrosis. The selection was made taking into account the existence of heart failure, embolism or arrhythmia, in patient in which the common causes of heart disease were ruled out. A clinical, electrocardiographic and radiologic study was performed in every case. Some laboratory test were also done, including a serelogical one for Chagas' disease in 10 cases. Fourteen patients died and necropsy was carried out in each of them.  Findings related to...

Twentyfive patients with cardiomyopathy coming from different regions of Peru have been studied the majority (22) at the Hospital Dos de Mayo in the city of Lima. Twentythree were males and two females, and their ages were between 13 and 65 years. Twelve patients belonged to the idiopathic cardiomyopathy, 8 were related to alcoholism, 3 belonged to the familiar type, one case was a of post-partum cardiomyopathy and another of endomyocardial fibrosis. The selection was made taking into account the existence of heart failure, embolism or arrhythmia, in patient in which the common causes of heart disease were ruled out. A clinical, electrocardiographic and radiologic study was performed in every case. Some laboratory test were also done, including a serelogical one for Chagas' disease in 10 cases. Fourteen patients died and necropsy was carried out in each of them.  Findings related to...

Growing number of young men from different regions of Peru, postulate their income annually to various units of the police institution. The routine medical examination to undergo these candidates in the Department of Cardiology, Hospital Police Lima, offers opportunity to do research on some aspects of national pathology. 3 years screening for Chagas disease is performed in subjects born or derived from chagasic regions, having had occasion to use our "index of suspicion" for the diagnosis of this disease in subjects come Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Amazonas and San Martin (1).

From June 1960 to June 1961, using our "index of suspicion" 1 in the Department of Cardiology, Hospital Police Lima, we diagnosed 5 cases over Chagas disease originating in tacan, the first of Sagollo two (Locumba) and the last three of Tala (Tarata).