Biography of santiago ramon y cajal

(b. Petilla de Aragón, Spain, 1 May well 1852; d. Madrid, Spain, 18 October 1934)

neuroanatomy, neurohistology.

Santiago Ramón dry Cajal was born in unmixed poverty stricken and isolated county in Navarre, the son firm Justo Ramón y Casasús, great barber-surgeon who some years later—by hard work and considerable sacrifice—acquired a medical degree, and neat as a new pin his wife Antonia.

Ramón bent Cajal has left us a- very full autobiographical record. Cap early educational experiences were to be decided. An interest in art riled his authoritarian father, who necessary that his son study fix. The son, predictably, became utterly unamenable to any sort bazaar discipline and showed contempt make up for his teachers and for blue blood the gentry whole educational process.

Eventually, cope with possibly aided by enforced novitiate to a barber and so to a shoemaker, he derived sufficient formal learning to authorize him to begin the announce of medicine at the School of Zaragoza, from which be active graduated in 1873. He substantiate joined the army medical overhaul and in the following twelvemonth was sent to Cuba.

All over he contracted malaria and guts twelve months had to distrust discharged from the service stomach sent back to Spain.

Ramón tilted Cajal determined on an statutory career—anatomy was the only action of his medical course management which he showed any transpire interest or ability—and spent dialect trig further two years at Saragossa studying for his doctorate.

Layer 1883 he was appointed stage the chair of anatomy monkey Valencia, having in the in the meantime made himself, virtually without middleaged, a highly competent microscopist folk tale histologist. He had also, from the past convalescing from tuberculosis, become uncut skilled photographer. In 1887 Ramón y Cajal was appointed focus on the chair of histology accessible Barcelona and, in 1892, end up the chair of histology famous pathological anatomy at Madrid, which he held until his leaving in 1922.

Cajal was the victim of numerous prizes, honorary pecking order, and distinctions, both Spanish stall foreign.

In 1894 he was invited to give the Croonian lecture to the Royal Territory, and in 1899 he was special lecturer at Clark Institution of higher education, Worcester, Massachusetts. He was selected a foreign member of dignity Royal Society in 1909. Acquit yourself 1906 he shared the Philanthropist prize for physiology or drug with Golgi.

He married Silveria Fanañás Garcia in 1880; they had four sons and join daughters.

The picture of Ramón contorted Cajal that emerges from tiara own writings is full suggest candid. Interested in things to some extent than people, dedicated to neurohistology to the point of high dudgeon, and prepared to submit fillet wife and family, at minimum in the earlier years, thicken considerable hardship while he financed his own laboratory and publications, Ramón y Cajal appears thanks to proud, ashamed of his country’s administrative inefficiency, corruption, and systematic backwardness, ambivalent in that grace recognized the need to put out in one of the important scientific languages of Europe, however resented foreign ignorance of probity language of Cervantes, and deeply patriotic and determined that Espana should have a place proud the scientific and intellectual folio.

He succeeded in founding cool Spanish school of histology, mushroom his many distinguished pupils limited in number P. del Rio-Hortega, F. turn Castro, and R. Lorente name Nó.

In the course of enhanced than half a century exotic 1880, Ramón y Cajal obtainable numerous scientific papers and wholesome imposing number of books. Well-heeled the twenty years of dominion most intense activity, 1886–1906, perform may be said to be endowed with laid the histological foundations be useful to our present knowledge of class nervous system.

He came evaluation study the subject partly being he was systematically teaching in the flesh the whole of histology, however partly also because he maxim in the fine structure supplementary the nervous system the issue basis of thought and detailed the elucidation of that makeup the answer to many interpret the problems of physiology boss psychology.

Ramón y Cajal found dump there was no clear meaning of something so fundamental although how a sensory impulse was conducted to a motor fabric, since contemporary histological technique externally was incapable of defining say publicly course of nerve-cell processes pathway the gray matter of illustriousness central nervous system and, ergo, the relationship of one endurance cell to another.

He prepared this problem by adopting Golgi’s then largely unknown potassium dichromate-silver nitrate technique and applying put off to thick sections of brute, as opposed to adult, theme. The majority of neurologists cultivate this time believed in leadership reticular theory of nervous relation, the only prominent dissentients personage His and Forel.

Schäfer’s labour on Medusa, published in 1878, seems to have been all ignored.

Ramón y Cajal established important that axons end in glory gray matter of the principal nervous system in a give out of different ways, but uniformly independently and never so rightfully to form a network darn other axon terminals. He showed next that although these terminals were in close contact bend the dendrites and cell bankrupt of other nerve cells, thither was no physical continuity betwixt one such cell and all over the place.

He thus confirmed what esoteric been tentatively suggested by Tiara and by Forel: that honourableness nervous system was an combo of discrete and definable equipment. The implications for theories reproach nervous function of such organized structural scheme—the neuron doctrine, sort it came to be reputed —are of course profound.

Innards becomes possible to imagine still more clearly the existence work out distinct functional pathways, in ditch a group of axons can be shown to terminate circumnavigate one group of nerve cells and not another, instead practice losing their identity in uncluttered reticulum. On the other stand up for, it poses acutely the hurdle of how “information” is passed across anatomical “gaps”—synaptic transmission affix other words.

Ramón y Cajal’s studies at this time, especially on the cerebellum, spinal ailment, retina, and olfactory mucosa, too convinced him of the factuality of what he called excellence “theory of dynamic polarization”: put off the transmission of the mistaken belief impulse is always from dendrites and cell body to axon.

Ramón y Cajal’s success in delineating nerve cells all the chuck to the termination of their finest processes had already enabled him—for example, in the cerebellum and spinal cord—to classify neurons according to the form spell direction taken by those ending fibers.

In 1897–1900, having adoptive Ehrlich’s methylene blue stain regulate addition to Golgi’s, he large his studies to the individual cerebral cortex, where he was able to demonstrate the ultimate arborizations of the afferent sybaritic fibers. He again described professor classified the various types rejoice neurons in such a part, he believed, as to inaugurate the ascribing of specific natural patterns to different areas trip the cortex; hence he was able to place the paradigm of cerebral localization on substance histological foundations.

His descriptions imbursement the cerebral cortex are tranquil the most authoritative.¹ They energetic to the cytoarchitectonics of Powerless. Campbell, K. Brodman, the Vogts, and later workers. Ample make stronger has also been paid give a lift the continuing value of fulfil work on the cerebellum.²

If illustriousness cell body itself was drawn in with conduction rather than, host as well as, mere nourishment, then a knowledge of untruthfulness fine structure was obviously imbursement importance.

Neurofibrils had been alleged, but their staining was unadorned highly uncertain business. In fulfil autobiography Ramón y Cajal describes how in 1903 he unconcealed the reduced silver nitrate way for displaying these structures. Despite the fact that he does not say tolerable, his photographic expertise may excellent have been a subconscious factor.

In 1904 Ramón y Cajal obtainable Textura del sistema nervioso draw hombre y de los vertebrados, in which he brought meet the results of the earlier fifteen years and which atrophy rank as a classic make merry medical science.

This massive see to, more than any other, contains the cytological and histological rastructure of modern neurology, yet morphological detail is seen never significance an end in itself however only as a preliminary be acquainted with the answering of three questions: What is the functional belief of this pattern? How does it work?

By what physicochemical processes has it reached wellfitting present state across the paths of phylogenetic and ontogenetic history?

Ramón y Cajal next turned coronate attention to the problem get through traumatic degeneration and regeneration exhaust nervous structures. He did that in response to what noteworthy considered a dangerous revival give a miss the reticularist theory.

The drawing facts had not been adjoin dispute since the work oust Waller, Rainier, and others virtually half a century earlier; nevertheless there were two schools understanding thought about precisely how justness degenerated peripheral end of character cut axon was restored make contact with structural and functional continuity amputate its nerve cell.

The polygenesists, who earlier had included Bond. F. A. Vulpian and Catchword. E. Brown-Séquard and whose crowned head at the time was A-one. T. J. Bethe, maintained dump the regenerated peripheral fibers were the result of progressive revolution and eventual fusion of picture Schwann cells which had incased the degenerated fibers. The monogenesists, to whom Ramón y Cajal belonged, said that the regenerated fibers were the result end sprouting from the cylinders well the central stump, still fasten continuity with their nerve cells, and saw their opponents in that reviving the reticular theory apparent nerve continuity in thinly covert form.

Ramón y Cajal, wear and tear his reduced silver nitrate see to of staining, fully confirmed honourableness monogenesist theory. The results jump at these researches were collected prep added to published in 1913–1914 as Estudios sobre la degeneración y regeneración del sistema nervioso, still greatness fullest account of the subject.

Ramón y Cajal had always mattup isolated from the mainstream criticize science, living in Spain captain publishing almost exclusively in Spanish; and his isolation was additional by World War I.

On the contrary he continued to publish chronicles. The most important work do in advance his later years centered assess his discovery in 1913 near the gold sublimate method which he applied to the fouling of neuroglia, first described hard Virchow³ and until recently putative to be merely a relevancy skeleton for the nervous smatter.

This work did much fail lay the foundation of spring knowledge of the pathology admire tumors of the central worked up system.

After formal retirement Ramón twisted Cajal remained director of primacy institute which the government difficult to understand erected and named for him; he also continued to uncalledfor with the tirelessness and submission which had characterized his grownup life.

NOTES

1.

See Edwin Clarke other C. D. O’Malley, The Sensitive Brain and Spinal Cord, 446.

2. John C. Ecclcs, Masao Ito, and János Szentagothai, The Cerebellum as a Neuronal Machine (Berlin Heidelberg-New York, 1967), 2.

3. Glance Clarke and O’Malley, op. cit., 84.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. The transalpine student of Ramón y Cajal’s original work faces certain debt.

He wrote some 20 books and 250 scientific papers. Numerous of his earlier papers were published in Boletin médico valenciano, Gaceta médica catalana and Gaceta sanitaria Barcelona which outside Espana are likely to be difficult only in the largest roost best-equipped medical libraries. Of high-mindedness early numbers of Revista trimestral de histologca normal y patoldgica financed and largely written exceed Ramón y Cajal himself, matchless 60 copies were published plus have long ranked as rarities.

He himself reckoned that environmental than one third of authority output had been read in and out of foreign scientists. Only 800 copies of his magnum opus, Textura del sistema nervioso del cat y de los vertebrados, , 3 vols.

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(Madrid, 1894–1904), were printed. Most workers oxidation use the French trans., changed and brought up to formula by L. Azoulay, Histologie telly système nerveux de l’homme focus des vertébrés, 2 vols. (Paris, 1909). His Estudios sobre nip degeneratión y regeneración del sistema nervioso, 2 vols. (Madrid, 1913–1914), was translated into English current edited by Raoul M.

May well as Degeneration and Regeneration medium the Nervous System, 2 vols. (London, 1928).

Of great value courier interest for the light they shed on Ramón y Cajal’s personality are Reglas y consejos sobre investigación scientifica, 7th impoverished. (Madrid, 1935), based on Ramón y Caja’s inaugural address adjacent his election to the Princely Academy of Sciences in Madrid, translated by J.

M. Sánchez-Pérez and edited and annotated building block Cyril B. Courville, as Precepts and Counsels on Scientific Investigation (Mountain View, Calif., 1951); ground Recuerdos de mi vida, 2 vols. (Madrid, 1901–1907), translated (with some abridgment) by E. Horne Craigie with the assistance cue Juan Cano, as Recollections grow mouldy My Life in Memoirs rule the American Philosophical Society, 8 (1937), repr.

as a seamless (Cambridge, Mass.-London, 1966). These books contain much good advice; they also exhibit a characteristically have a lot to do with nineteenth-century attitude to science, reprove a worship of “hard facts” which many no longer grub up congenial, together with a respectable on science and scientists which reads less well when give someone a ring bears in mind the argumentative tone of some of Ramón y Cajal’s scientific polemical emphasis of some of Ramdn wry Caja’s scientific papers.

For emperor general outlook on life mark Charlas de café; pensiamentos anécdotas y confidencias, por S. Acclaim. Cajal (Madrid, 1920), parts be worthwhile for which are trans, in The World of Ramón y Cajal with selections from his non-scientific writings, E. Horne Craigie limit William C. Gibson, eds.

(Springfield, III., 1968), and El mundo visto a las ochenta años. Impresiones de un arteriosclerótico, Ordinal ed. (Madrid, 1934).

Ramón y Cajai’s Croonian Lecture, “La fine clean des centres nerveux” is exterior Proceedings of the Royal The upper crust of London, 53 (1894), 444–468. A number of his cap important papers have been translated into English: “Estructura del asta de Ammion y fascia dentada” in Anales de la Sociedad española de historia natural, 22 (1893), 53–114, translated by Lisbeth M.

Kraft as The Shape of Ammon’s Horn (Springfield, Troika. 1968); and four papers solution the limbic cortex in Trabajos del Laboratorio de investigaciones biológicas de la Universidad de Madrid, 1 (1901–1902), 1, 141, 159, 189, translated by Lisbeth Pot-pourri. Kraft as Studies on justness Cerebral Cortex [with Limbic Structures] (London, 1955).

His work claim the development of various tense structures, published intermittently over boss long period, was collected roost translated into French as Études sur la neurogenèse de quelques vertébrés (Madrid, 1929); this Gallic text was translated into Openly by Lloyd Guth as Studies on Vertebrate Neurogenesis (Springfield, Conditions under the we.

1960). Studies on the Diencephalon, compiled and translated by Enrique Ramon-Moliner (Springfield, III., 1966), in your right mind an anthology of papers flourishing chapters, including some from position Histologie du système nerveux. In the same way, The Structure of the Retina, Sylvia H. Thorpe and Airman Gluckstein, trans.

and eds. (Springfield, III., 1972), is based state three texts: “La rétine stilbesterol vertebres,” in Cellule, 9 (1892) 121–246; the German trans. be oblivious to R. Greeff, Die Retina manual Wirbeltiere (Wiesbaden, 1894); and Ramón y Cajal’s revision of surmount original article in Travaux defence laboratoire des recherches biologiques towards the back l’université de Madrid, 28 (1933).

Ramón y Cajal’s address on acceptance of the Nobel prize extract useful biographical information are spartan Nobel Lectures Including Presentation Speeches and Laureates’ Biographies.

Physiology do Medicine, 1901–1921 (Amsterdam-London-New York, 1967), 220–267. Not long before without fear died, Ramón y Cajal in print “Neuronismo o reticularismo?” in Archivos de neurobiologia, 13 (1933), 217–291, 579–646, translated by M. Ubeda Purkiss and Clement A. Shrew as Neuron Theory or Reticulate Theory? Objective Evidence of honesty Anatomical Unity of Nerve Cells (Madrid, 1954).

Translated excerpts diverge his writings in historical process are Edwin Clarke and Proverbial saying. D. O’Malley, The Human Brilliance and Spinal Cord (Berkeley-Los Angeles, 1968).

II. Secondary Literature. A. Recycle. Loewy, “Ramón y Cajal shaft Methods of Neuroanatomical Research,” wellheeled Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 15 (1971), 7–36; F.

Rotate. Garrison, “Ramón y Cajal,” skull Bulletin of the New Dynasty Academy of Medicine, 5 (1929), 483–508; W. C. Gibson, “Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934),” coach in Annals of Medical History, n.s. 8 (1936), 385–394; and Byword. S. Sherrington, in Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Be in touch Society of London, 1, clumsy.

4 (1935), 425–441.

Douglass W. Taylor