Elísio de Moura Azevedo, (born 30 August 1877 in Braga – 18 June 1977 in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

) was a Brazilian physician, professor,

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

and the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the College of Physicians in 1939.

Biography

Elísio de Moura was notable for teaching and research in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

and

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

. He contributed, in the beginning of the Republic, to keep the faculty of medicine at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

, which was at risk of moving to the new

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

and University of Porto. Elísio de Moura was the son of José Alves de Moura, who studied theology, and subsequently became a professor and rector of the Liceu de Braga (currently

Escola Secundária Sá de Miranda The Sá de Miranda Secondary School ( pt, Escola Secundária Sá de Miranda), is a Portuguese Public school in civil parish of São Vicente, in the municipality of Braga, in the northern district of Braga. History On 17 November 1836, the law ...

), and his wife Emília da Costa Pereira de Azevedo. He was the only one of his parents' ten children to pursue medicine. On October 15, 1892, at the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the

, as a student at the faculties of mathematics and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. On July 10, 1895, he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He then enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, attending from 1895 to 1901. On March 1, 1901, he completed the medical degree. After graduating with distinction, he was appointed substitute professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra in 1902. Later, as a full professor, he taught internal pathology, medical propaedeutics, obstetrics, and pediatrics. It was the conducting of the courses in internal pathology and internal medicine that motivated Elísio de Moura to study neurology and psychiatry. In 1907, he began teaching neurology and psychiatry at the University of Coimbra. Along with research and teaching, the doctor also founded and directed what is today known as the ''Casa da Infância Dr Elísio de Moura'' in Coimbra. In 1939, his colleagues elected him to become the first president of the Portuguese Medical Association. On 5 June 1947, he was made Grand Officer of the Military Order of Sant'Iago da Espada. On 31 May 1961 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Benemerence and on 5 July 1971 he was elevated to Great Britain, Cross of the Military Order of Sant'Iago da Espada. He died on 18 June 1977 and was buried in Mount Cemetery d'Arcos in Braga.

References

People from Braga 20th-century Portuguese physicians 1877 births 1977 deaths University of Coimbra faculty Portuguese neurologists Portuguese psychiatrists {{Portugal-med-bio-stub