In memoriam - Affonso Berardinelli Tarantino

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1806-37132014000500001 from various Brazilian states (all of whom were dear friends of Tarantino’s) and had the striking characteristic of being thorough and profound without ever abandoning a practical discourse. Tarantino used to say that he had to be able to communicate with physicians anywhere in Brazil, even in the most remote parts of the country. His book (which is currently in its sixth edition) was thus written and can be found in major university libraries, study rooms, and physician offices nationwide. It is a ubiquitous reference for scholars of diseases of the respiratory system. Tarantino was the coauthor and editor of several medical books, on which he left his mark. Although he was essentially a phthisiologist, he was also a scholar of pneumonia and sarcoidosis, the latter being the theme of his tenure thesis. Tarantino also rewarded us with his reflections and his privileged and generous view of the world in books such as “Repetrechos”,(2) in which each page allows those with a keen eye to gain further understanding of the magnificent teacher and human being that he was. Therefore, although I feel it is my duty to write a eulogy, I feel unable to write one that is worthy of the man and professor whose company I had the immense privilege of enjoying for over twenty years. My mentor and my godfather, Tarantino was the one who sent me on the path to becoming a pulmonologist. Over the course of nearly a hundred years, Tarantino was a modern man; he lived his life unfettered by the notion that time is fleeting and had more than simple students: he had disciples. We are all diminished by his passing last July. His In memoriam — Affonso Berardinelli Tarantino