At one time in a certain hospital in Manila, the doctors were baffled by a case the diagnosis of which was too elusive for them. The patient lay prostate with continuous high fever and painfull joints. Came the "Old Guard" and while still a few paces away from the bed, he diagnosed meningitis. A spinal tap was done on the diagnosed meningitis. A spinal tap was done on the patient and it revealed a frankly purulent spinal fluid.

THUS was Luis Ma. Guerrero’s memory to live, long after he had died. He possessed an amazingly keen memory and a pair of clinical eyes which aided him in making a snap diagnosis – rarely using a stethoscope. Dr. Guerrero’s diagnostic ability was termed legendary for he oftentimes could visualize what many physicians failed to recognize. His unusually sharp sense of perception was a distinguishing mark through which he had achieved fame.

Oftentimes, he would enter a patient’s room, glance at him and take his pulse. After a moment of intense concentration he would give his diagnosis.

He was the clinician with the famed clinical eye. His physical senses were acutely attuned to the recognition of illness. One would on war rounds, for instances, spot him with eyes closed intently listening to the apparently baffling of his finger nails. Then for a minute view, with the searching lenses of the practiced eye, that was worth hours of observation for the neophyte. With see through the interior in an unobstructed view, his eyes, human bodies perhaps appeared like structures on cellophane where he could clearly. Then would come out snap diagnosis or the suggested crucial clue that eventually led to the diagnosis.

As Carmelo Jacinto recalls, the famous doctor diagnosed diphtheria by the character of the patient’s tongue or his body odor; pneumonia by the patient’s nostrils; peritonitis, by the pinched face of the patient’s; tetanus or meningitis by the type of the spinal curvature.

Luis Guerrero was not a brilliant student but he had a strong sense of determination. His uncle , Dr. Leon Ma. Guerrero, the famed Botanist, once chided him when he failed in mathematics: A Guerrero never fails. This challenge was not left unheeded. The next term he received an excellent mark in the subject. Through years of patient toil and persistent effort he graduated in 1901 from the University of Santo Tomas with eight others.

After graduation he served as chief, of the Division of laboratories of the San Juan de Dios Hospital. A year later he was appointed instructor in bacteriology and parasitology at the University of Santo Tomas his merits were widely recognized and he was invited to join the teaching staff of the newly opened Philippine Medical School, as Instructor of Tropical Medicine. This was in 1908. Years later Luis Guerrero succeeded Dr. Ariston Bautista Lin as head of the Department of Medicine of the Philippine General Hospital.

Dr. Luis Ma. Guerrero was an uncontested authority on Tropical Medicine, Bacteriology and Pediatrics. He was appointed professor in Clinical Pediatrics in the University of Santo Tomas and later succeeded Dr. Joaquin Quintos as head of the Department. After repeated requests by the University authorities, he accepted the Deanship of the college of Medicine.

It may be of interest to note that continues in the Philippines had changed during that time. Prosperity under the benevolent American regime was the air. Epidemics of dreaded communicable diseases were being controlled through improved sanitation and hygiene. Infant mortality was dropping because of the pioneering work of Drs. Bautista, Luis and Manuel Guerrero, Quintos, Albert, and Vedder. The life span of the Filipinos was significantly lengthened. Cases of mal-nutrition and the scourge of parasitic diseases were diminishing. Closer contact with the rest of the world throught in an increased dosage of scientific knowledge thus resulting in the greater progress of medical sciences in the Philippines. The faster pace of life, however, led o greater stress and strain of living which was gave use to more wear and tear on the part of the individuals. Emphasis now shifted from communicable diseases and mal-nutrition to degenerative afflictions that accompany the prolongation of life. The amount of knowledge became much more than could be profitably assimilated by a single individual. Subject matter in any field of specialization was growing so voluminous that the physician had to concentrate on narrower fields. The time had come for specialization among Filipino physicians.

Dr. Guerrero, however, did not confine his energies and talents to just one specialized field. He was to attain distinction as a pediatrician, as a laboratory worker, as a helminthologist, and as an authority in tropical medicine. He was known as a very distinguished clinician, and a ranking scientist. Excellence as a medical scientist and practitioner were to come to him as a fruit of his sincere love for wisdom ad his fellowmen.

One of his chief virtues as a doctor and professor of medicine was his noble spirit of self-sacrifice for ailing mankind. It was a common knowledge that a good number of times, he was assailed by abdominal pains or colic while prodding patiently on, and administering the sick. He would take his meals, which consisted mainly of a can of "Bear Brand" milk. In his car, just so he could carry out his heavy daily schedule of visits. He knew the moral imponderable, curative value of the presence of the physician – and his presence to many patients radiated and infused confidence, hope, redemption.

Social prominence was of no importance to Luis Guerrero. For him, there were no rich or poor – only the suffering who needed to be alleviated from pain.

A politician once called my father to treat his wife. The senator and his wife were dressed in expensive silk lounging robes. He introduced themselves with an unmistakable tone of importance. My father, obviously unimpressed, answered, very calmly: Hindi ko kailangan malaman kung sino kayo. Kailangan ko’ng malaman kung ano ang sakit ninyo.

Patients had a fanatical faith in him as revealed in the passage:

During one of the visits with the Osmeñas he heard two of the children coughing from their bedroom upstairs. Without a moment’s hesitation, he said. Your children have diptheria. Bring them immediately to the San Lazaro Hospital. And with that, he left, without even bothering to examine them: Mrs. Osmeña felt a bit slighted by her great faith in him made her follow his instructions without doubt. Again he was right the children had diptheria.

His therapy was simple. Rather than use the shotgun prescriptions’ of less astute colleagues, he insisted on accurate diagnosis and careful evaluation of the patient’s condition. This method saved many a patient from undergoing unnecessary surgery. Examples of this may be gleamed from the following cases:

A baby was suffering from edema of the stomach. The doctor had prescribed an operation. When my father looked him over, he immediately prescribed a simple enema – after which , the baby was cured.

A prominent society matron was scheduled for a kidney operation. A day previous to his event, she consulted Dr. Guerrero who immediately ordered the cancellation of her operations and prescribed some pills instead. Fifteen years have elapse since that day, and she still has no need of resorting to such a drastic measure.

His extraordinary ability to diagnose enabled Dr. Luis Guerrero to administer the proper treatment. Sometimes, mere advise was all he had to give, as shown in this particular case:

A baby believed to be in an advanced stage of rickets was brought to him. She had frequent crying fits and was terribly malnourished. My father looked at the baby than said: I have seen the baby let me see her mother. Everyone was astonished by his remark since they just could not understand why he seemed more interested in seeing the other when it was the baby who was sick. But, he was unmindful of comments. When the mother was brought to him, he examined her breast to confirm his suspicion; she had inverted nipples. So, during all this time, the baby had been sucking air instead of milk.

Among his numerous house calls, he included visits to the slum areas. Because of his very hectic schedule, he would shout upon passing each house: Labas and dila, labas ang mga kamay. In this manner, he singled out the sick ones.

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