Brazil's Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde) has highlighted a series of concepts specific to the organization of healthcare systems. Among these, integrity - which shares boundaries with almost all other System principles - has been the object of much academic production in Brazil. Based on an extensive review of primary and secondary sources, the article offers a historical recovery of the concepts of integrity, decentralization, regionalization, and universality - ideas and concepts that in good measure are shaped by and interlinked with the set of ideals of the organization of sanitary services according to the district health centers model.
public health; integrity; decentralization; regionalization; universality