[Merton and medical sociology].

The article is about the main contributions of the North-American sociologist Robert King Merton (1910-2003), particularly those related to the field of medical sociology. Merton was first to conduct research on medical education, and the working team he formed was fundamental for the introduction of social thought in the medicine field (Patrícia Kendall, Renée Fox, Samuel Bloom and others). Of particular importance are Merton's vocation for sociology and the unique trajectory of his research, which was marked by studies on subjects that were not common in the early XX century, particularly the relationships between science, technology, and society. We provide the most important theoretical ad conceptual contribution brought by the author, as well as the expressions he created and which were soon adopted by researchers, such as 'focused interview', 'Matthew effects, 'Pygmalion effect', 'nonplanned consequences of social actions', 'manifest function', and 'latent function'. The highlight in the field of medical sociology is his work on the socialization process of the student of medicine.