In 1877 the constitution of a seniority ranking of the Medical Corps of the Baths showed important differences amongst its members. The Spanish Society of Medical Hydrology was born in an attempt to give scientific and social cohesion to this group. The Society had a brief golden age due to its promotion of scientific research and teaching, with the creation of a chemical laboratory for water analysis and the publication of its official journal, the Anales, which contained many articles that showed the quality in this type of studies. Together with the Anuario Oficial de las Aguas Minerales de España (Official Yearbook of Mineral Waters of Spain) they offered the best knowledge of Spanish waters and spas and reached the international recognition by hydrological science, even though it was done only by a small group of hydrologists. Inequalities inherent to the seniority ranking undermined the project with the temporary disappearance of its publications and the appearance of the Revista Médico-Hidrológica Española (The Spanish Hydrological Medical Journal), considered by some contemporaries as "the leftists of the ranking."

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