Resumen: Except for some surgical techniques, up to 1940 the clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease was determined by its own natural history: most medical interventions even worsened prognosis. The empyrical introduction of salazopyrine early in the 1940s, pioneered by Nanna Svartz in Sweden, was followed relatively soon by the incorporation of corticosteroids during the 1950s. However, it took both a long time to reach patients, and quality scientific evidence to better establish their indications built up very slowly. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.17235/reed.2024.10764/2024 Año: 2024 Publicado en: REVISTA ESPANOLA DE ENFERMEDADES DIGESTIVAS 116, 12 (2024), 657-660 ISSN: 1130-0108 Factor impacto JCR: 4.0 (2024) Categ. JCR: GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY rank: 35 / 147 = 0.238 (2024) - Q1 - T1 Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.284 - Medicine (miscellaneous) (Q3) - Gastroenterology (Q3)