‘The Tropics’ in geographical and astronomical terms simply refers to the area between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer; Tropical Medicine as a discipline, however, whose origins date back at least to the age of exploration, remains ill-defined and encompasses a wealth of different medical specialties and scientific areas, forming altogether the highly dynamic field of Medicine in the Tropics. The Tropencentrum within Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and AIDS at the Amsterdam Medical Center contributes together with numerous partners and collaborators worldwide to the broad field of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine through a wealth of clinical care, teaching and research activities in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and abroad.

Martin Peter Grobusch is Professor of Tropical Medicine at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam. He previously held the Chair of Infectious Diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and remains Visiting Professor in the Department of Medicine at that institution. He is also Visiting Professor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine of the University of Tübingen in Germany through which he maintains strong links with the Medical Research Unit at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon.

What does 'tropical medicine' stand for today? - 2What are the origins of ‘Tropical Medicine’? - 6What does ‘Tropical Medicine’ encompass today? - 8Tropical Medicine is geographical medicine - 8Where and how does the Tropencentrum within theAMC fit into the picture? - 10What are our core tasks and other activities? - 10A word of thanks - 16Notes - 20