[Development in medicine in the Werdenberg-Sargans region].

The rich palette of medical services are as casual to us as our life expectancy of 70 years. We tend to forget that our ancestors benefitted from poorer health care than our contemporaries in third world countries. The districts of Werdenberg and Sargans were up to the French revolution subject to rule by the confederation, a frontier area and an under-developed country. Some facts from these times highlight the multifactorial conditions that have led to the improvement of our health care systems. These data and scenes serve to honor our ancestors and at the same time evoke thoughts about consequences and limits of such developments-thoughts, that incite us to reflect and act towards optimal conditions of life for our descendants.