JT7 '/ growing interest in the thematic area of Health Promotion mJ-PS-, makes it essential to review the historical antecedents that gave rise to the current discipline, having as historical framework the development of public health in western culture. In the extensive history of public health, the most relevant facts regarding the essential elements of PS, currently accepted, are pointed out. No particular reference is made to Eastern culture due to ignorance of its evolution, although it is known with certainty that it, too, has had important roles in the theory and practice of what constitutes today the vast PS field.JT7'/ interes creciente en el area temdtica de la Promocion de la Salud mJ-PS-, hace indispensable que se revisen los antecedentes historicos que dieron origen a la actual disciplina, teniendo como marco historico el desarrollo de la salud publica en la cultura occidental. En la extensa historia de la salud publica, se senalan los hechos mas relevantes con relacion a los elementos esenciales de la PS, aceptados en la actualidad. No se hace referenda particular a la cultura oriental por desconocimiento de su evolution, aunque se sabe con certeza que tambien ella, ha tenido importantes en la teoria y prdctica de lo que constituye hoy el vasto campo de la PS.