Santiago Ramón y Cajal (; 1 May 1852 – 17 October 1934)
was a Spanish
neuroscientist
A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...
,
pathologist
Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...
, and
histologist
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...
specializing in
neuroanatomy
Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...
and the
central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...
. He and
Camillo Golgi
Camillo Golgi (; 7 July 184321 January 1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist known for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia (where he later spent most of his professional career) betwee ...
received the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
in 1906. Ramón y Cajal was the first person of Spanish origin to win a scientific
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
. His original investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain made him a pioneer of
modern neuroscience.
Hundreds of his drawings illustrating the
arborizations ("tree growing") of brain cells are still in use, since the mid-20th century, for educational and training purposes.
Biography
Santiago Ramón y Cajal was born on the 1st of May 1852 in the town of
Petilla de Aragón Petilla de Aragón is a town and municipality of the autonomous community of Navarra, northern Spain. The municipality itself is formed by two enclaves (''Petilla de Aragón'' itself and ''Los Bastanes'') that are entirely surrounded by the neighbor ...
,
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
As a child he was transferred many times from one school to another because of behavior that was declared poor, rebellious, and showing an anti-
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
attitude. An extreme example of his precociousness and rebelliousness at the age of eleven is his 1863 imprisonment for destroying his neighbor's yard gate with a homemade cannon. He was a keen painter, artist, and gymnast, but his father neither appreciated nor encouraged these abilities, even though these artistic talents would contribute to his success later in life.
His father apprenticed him to a shoemaker and barber, to "try and give his son much-needed discipline and stability."
![Ramón y Cajal por Izquierdo Vives 1874 Museo del ejercito Toledo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Ram%C3%B3n_y_Cajal_por_Izquierdo_Vives_1874_Museo_del_ejercito_Toledo.jpg)
Over the summer of 1868, his father took him to graveyards to find human remains for anatomical study. Early sketches of bones moved him to pursue medical studies.
[ Ramón y Cajal attended the medical school of the ]University of Zaragoza
The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon, Spain. Founded in 1542, it is one of the oldest universiti ...
, where his father worked as an anatomy teacher. He graduated in 1873, aged 21, and then served as a medical officer in the Spanish Army
The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century.
The ...
. He took part in an expedition to Cuba in 1874–1875, where he contracted malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
and tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. To aid his recovery, Ramón y Cajal spent time in the spa-town Panticosa
Panticosa (in Aragonese: ''Pandicosa'') is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, it was a successful spa town, famous for its pure mountain waters, that supposedly cu ...
in the Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
mountain range.
After returning to Spain, he received his doctorate in medicine in Madrid in 1877. Two years later, he became the director of the Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
Museum, and he married Silveria Fañanás García, with whom he had seven daughters and five sons. Ramón y Cajal worked at the University of Zaragoza until 1883, when he was awarded the position of anatomy professor of the University of Valencia
The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
.[ His early work at these two universities focused on the pathology of inflammation, the microbiology of ]cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
, and the structure of epithelial
Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...
cells and tissues.
In 1887 Ramón y Cajal moved to Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
for a professorship.[ There he first learned about ]Golgi's method
Golgi's method is a silver staining technique that is used to visualize nervous tissue under light microscopy. The method was discovered by Camillo Golgi, an Italian physician and scientist, who published the first picture made with the techniqu ...
, a cell staining method which uses potassium dichromate and silver nitrate to (randomly) stain a few neurons a dark black color, while leaving the surrounding cells transparent. This method, which he improved, was central to his work, allowing him to turn his attention to the central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...
(brain and spinal cord), in which neurons are so densely intertwined that standard microscopic inspection would be nearly impossible. During this period he made extensive detailed drawings of neural material, covering many species and most major regions of the brain.
In 1892, he became professor at Madrid.[ In 1899 he became director of the ''Instituto Nacional de Higiene – ''translated as ''National Institute of Hygiene '', and in 1922 founder of the – translated as the ''Laboratory of Biological Investigations '', later renamed to the , or ]Cajal Institute
The Cajal Institute (IC) is a research center in neurobiology which belongs to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The IC originates from the ''Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas'', founded in 1900 by order of King Alfonso XII ...
.[
He died in Madrid on October 17, 1934, at the age of 82, continuing to work even on his deathbed.][
]
Political and religious views
In 1877, the 25-year-old Ramón y Cajal joined a Masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
.[ ]John Brande Trend
John Brande Trend, or J.B. Trend (1887–1958), was a British Hispanist and the first Professor of Spanish at the University of Cambridge.
Born in Southampton, Trend was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he won an Exhibition to ta ...
wrote in 1965 that Ramón y Cajal "was a liberal in politics, an evolutionist in philosophy, an agnostic in religion".
Nonetheless, Ramón y Cajal used the term soul "without any shame". He was said to later have regretted having left organized religion,[José María López Piñero, "Santiago Ramón y Cajal", Universita de València] Ultimately, he became convinced of a belief in God as a creator, as stated during his first lecture before the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences ( Spanish: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'') is an academic institution and learned society that was founded in Madrid in 1847. It is dedicated to the study and research of mathem ...
.
Discoveries and theories
Ramón y Cajal made several major contributions to neuroanatomy. He discovered the axonal growth cone
A growth cone is a large actin-supported extension of a developing or regenerating neurite seeking its synaptic target. It is the growth cone that drives axon growth. Their existence was originally proposed by Spanish histologist Santiago Ram ...
, and demonstrated experimentally that the relationship between nerve cells was not ''continuous'', or a single system as per then extant reticular theory Reticular theory is an obsolete scientific theory in neurobiology that stated that everything in the nervous system, such as brain, is a single continuous network. The concept was postulated by a German anatomist Joseph von Gerlach in 1871, and was ...
, but rather ''contiguous''; there were gaps between neurons. This provided definitive evidence for what Heinrich Waldeyer would name " neuron theory", now widely considered the foundation of modern neuroscience. He is also considered by some to be the first "neuroscientist" since in 1894 he stated to the Royal Society of London
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
: "The ability of neurons to grow in an adult and their power to create new connections can explain learning." This statement is considered to be the origin of the synaptic theory of memory.
He was an advocate of the existence of dendritic spines
A dendritic spine (or spine) is a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite that typically receives input from a single axon at the synapse. Dendritic spines serve as a storage site for synaptic strength and help transmit electrical si ...
, although he did not recognize them as the site of contact from presynaptic cells. He was a proponent of polarization of nerve cell function and his student, Rafael Lorente de Nó Rafael Lorente de Nó (April 8, 1902 – April 2, 1990) was a Spanish neuroscientist who advanced the scientific understanding of the nervous system with his seminal research.
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Acad ...
, would continue this study of input-output systems into cable theory
Classical cable theory uses mathematical models to calculate the electric current (and accompanying voltage) along passive neurites, particularly the dendrites that receive synaptic inputs at different sites and times. Estimates are made by model ...
and some of the earliest circuit analysis of neural structures.
By producing excellent depictions of neural structures and their connectivity and providing detailed descriptions of cell types he discovered a new type of cell, which was subsequently named after him, the interstitial cell of Cajal
Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are interstitial cells found in the gastrointestinal tract. There are different types of ICC with different functions. ICC and another type of interstitial cell, known as platelet-derived growth factor receptor ...
(ICC). This cell is found interleaved among neurons embedded within the smooth muscles
Smooth muscle is an involuntary non-striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (''bands'' or ''stripes''). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit mus ...
lining the gut, serving as the generator and pacemaker of the slow waves of contraction which move material
Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geologi ...
along the gastrointestinal tract
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organ (biology), organs of the digestive syste ...
, mediating neurotransmission from motor neurons to smooth muscle cells.
In his 1894 Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.
Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single ...
, Ramón y Cajal suggested (in an extended metaphor) that cortical pyramidal cells
Pyramidal cells, or pyramidal neurons, are a type of multipolar neuron found in areas of the brain including the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. Pyramidal neurons are the primary excitation units of the mammalian prefrontal cor ...
may become more elaborate with time, as a tree grows and extends its branches.
He devoted a considerable amount of time studying French which he used to help his wife during labor and parapsychological phenomena. A book he had written on these topics was lost during the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
Distinctions
Ramón y Cajal received many prizes, distinctions, and societal memberships during his scientific career, including honorary doctorates in medicine from Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and Würzburg University
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
and an honorary doctorate in philosophy from Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
.[ The most famous distinction he was awarded was the ]Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
in 1906, together with the Italian scientist Camillo Golgi
Camillo Golgi (; 7 July 184321 January 1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist known for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia (where he later spent most of his professional career) betwee ...
"in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system".[ This caused some controversy because Golgi, a staunch supporter of ]reticular theory Reticular theory is an obsolete scientific theory in neurobiology that stated that everything in the nervous system, such as brain, is a single continuous network. The concept was postulated by a German anatomist Joseph von Gerlach in 1871, and was ...
, disagreed with Ramón y Cajal in his view of the neuron doctrine. Even before Ramón y Cajal's work, Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen established the contiguous nature of nerve cells in his study of certain marine life, which Ramón y Cajal failed to cite.
In society and culture
In 1906 Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida painted Cajal's official portrait celebrating his Nobel Prize win.
Cajal posed for a statue that was created by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure
Mariano Benlliure y Gil (8 September 18629 November 1947) was a Spanish sculptor and medallist, who executed many public monuments and religious sculptures in Spain, working in a heroic realist style.
Life and works
He was born in the Lower St ...
and was installed 1924 in the Paraninfo building at the School of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza
The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon, Spain. Founded in 1542, it is one of the oldest universiti ...
.
In 1931 a monument was unveiled in Madrid, Spain. This full-body statue that stands 3 m (around 10 ft) high on a narrow pedestal and created by Lorenzo Domínguez, a Chilean medical student.
1982 a TV mini series was created in Spain titled ''Ramón y Cajal: Historia de una voluntad''.
In 2003, the first major exhibition of Cajal's scientific drawings opened in Madrid, Spain. The exhibition featured hundreds of restored original drawings, micrographic slides, and personal photographs created by Cajal. The accompanying catalog titled ''Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852–2003) Ciencia y Arte'' features numerous high quality reproductions of Cajal's drawings and photo essays on the restoration process. Exhibition curators and contributing authors to the catalog include: Santiago Ramón y Cajal Junquera, Miguel Ángel Freire Mallo, Paloma Esteban Leal, Pablo García, Virginia G. Marin, Ma Cruz Osuna, Isabel Argerich Fernández, Paloma Calle, Marta C. Lopera, Ricardo Martínez, Pilar Sedano Espín, Eugenia Gimeno Pascual, Sonia Tortajada, and Juan Antonio Sáez Dégano.
In 2005 the asteroid 117413 Ramonycajal was named after him by Juan Lacruz.
In 2007, sculptures of Severo Ochoa y Santiago Ramón y Cajal created Víctor Ochoa were unveiled at the Spain's CESIC (university research centre), Madrid, Spain.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal Museum, Ayerbe, Huesca, Spain opened in 2013 and is located in Cajal's childhood home, where he lived with his family for ten years.
In 2014, the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, US, initiated an ongoing exhibition of original Ramón y Cajal drawings in its John Porter Neuroscience Research Center. The exhibition concept was spearheaded by NINDS Senior Researcher Jeffery Diamond and NINDS science writer Christopher Thomas and was made possible through close collaboration with the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain. The exhibition also includes contemporary artwork curated by Jeff Diamond, which was created by artists Rebecca Kamen and Dawn Hunter. Inspired by Cajal's original drawings, Kamen's and Hunter's artworks are thematically representative of Cajal's aesthetic and are on permanent display for the public at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center. Through the award of a 2017–2018 Fulbright España Senior Research Fellowship to the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain, Hunter continued to develop her creative project about Cajal by referencing original source material.
A selection of Cajal's scientific drawings, personal photos, oil paintings, and pastel drawings were curated into the 14th Istanbul Biennial, ''Saltwater'', that was held in Istanbul, Turkey from September 5 – November 1, 2015.
The exhibition ''Fisiología de los Sueños. Cajal, Tanguy, Lorca, Dalí...'' opened on October 5, 2015 and ended on January 16, 2016 at the University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. Cajal's work was the centerpiece topic of the exhibition and the show explored the influence of histological drawings on Surrealism.
From January 31 – May 29, 2016, Cajal's work was featured in the inaugural exhibition for the re-opening of University of California's Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) ''Architecture of Life''. The catalog for the exhibition featured Cajal's drawing of the Purkinje Cell on the front cover.
The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA and the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain held collaborative symposiums honoring Cajal. The collaborative institutional symposiums were held on October 28, 2015 and May 24, 2017. The first symposium held at the NIH in 2015 was titled ''Bridging the Legacy of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a symposium honoring the father of modern neuroscience''. Keynote speaker Dr. Rafael Yuste was honored at a reception held at the Spanish Ambassador's, Ramón Gil-Casares, home. The second symposium titled, ''New Opportunities for NIH-CSIC Collaboration'', was held at the Instituto Cajal in 2017. Dawn Hunter’s ''Cajal Inventory'' art project was exhibited at the symposium for the general public in the institute's library. The ''Cajal Inventory'' consists of forty-five 11” x 14” drawings in which Hunter recreated in fine detail Cajal’s scientific drawings from primary source, and surreal portrait drawings of Cajal inspired by his photography.
Every year more than two hundred four-year postdoctoral fellowships by the Ministry of Science of Spain are awarded to middle career scholars from different fields of knowledge are called "Ayudas a contratos Ramon y Cajal" to honor his memory.
An exhibition called ''The Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal'' travelled through North America, beginning 2017 in the US at the Weisman Art Museum
The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's Northrop Auditorium. In 19 ...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The exhibition traveled to the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York City, New York, USA, MIT Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and ended in April 2019 at the Ackland Art Museum
The Ackland Art Museum is a museum and academic unit of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855–1940) to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is located a ...
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. ''The Beautiful Brain'' book, published by Abrams, New York, accompanied the exhibition.
During 2019, the University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain opened an exhibition about Cajal titled ''Santiago Ramón y Cajal. 150 years at the University of Zaragoza.'' The exhibition had an accompanying catalog that featured the same title. The exhibition opened October 2019 and closed at the end of December 2019.
A short documentary by REDES is available on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Spanish public television channel RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...
screened a biopic series to commemorate his life in 2019.
From the 19th of November, 2020 through the 5th of December 2021, the National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid, Spain hosted an exhibition featuring Cajal's scientific drawings, photographs, scientific equipment and personal objects from the Legado Cajal, Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
In 2020, over 75 volunteers collaborated as part of The Cajal Embroidery Project across 6 countries to create 81 intricate, exquisite hand-stitched panels of Ramón y Cajal's images, which were then curated and displayed b
Edinburgh Neuroscience
at the virtual FENS 2020 Forum, and showcased by ''The Lancet Neurology'' in their front covers in 2021.
In 2017, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognised Cajal’s Legacy (which had been kept in a museum from 1945 to 1989) as a World Heritage treasure. Recognising that this cultural treasure deserves a dedicated museum, showcasing not only Cajal’s but also his disciples’ legacies, there has been a call for a dedicated museum to commemorate and celebrate Ramón y Cajal's discoveries and impact on neuroscience.
Project Encephalon organised Cajal Week to celebrate his 169th birth anniversary from 1 May to 7 May 2021.
''The Brain In Search Of Itself'', an English language biography, was published in 2022.
Publications
He published more than 100 scientific works and articles in Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, French and German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. Among his works were:[
* ''Rules and advice on scientific investigation''
* ''Histology''
* ''Degeneration and regeneration of the nervous system''
* ''Manual of normal histology and micrographic technique''
* ''Elements of histology''
A list of his books includes:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
**
*
*
*
*
In 1905, he published five science-fiction stories called "Vacation Stories" under the pen name "Dr. Bacteria".
]
Gallery of drawings
File:Cajal (1888) firt drawing of nervous system.gif, First illustration by Cajal (1888) of the nervous system. (A) First page of the article. (B) Vertical section of a cerebellar convolution of a hen. (C) Cerebellum of an adult bird. (D) Higher magnification of (C) showing Purkinje cell. (E) Dendrite of the Purkinje cell.
File:CajalHippocampus.jpeg, Drawing of the neural circuitry of the rodent hippocampus
The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek , 'seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, a ...
. , Vols. 1 and 2. A. Maloine. Paris. 1911
File:CajalCerebellum.jpg, Drawing of the cells of the chick cerebellum
The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebel ...
, from "", Madrid, 1905
File:SparrowTectum.jpg, Drawing of a section through the optic tectum
In neuroanatomy, the superior colliculus () is a structure lying on the roof of the mammalian midbrain. In non-mammalian vertebrates, the homologous structure is known as the optic tectum, or optic lobe. The adjective form '' tectal'' is commonl ...
of a sparrow, from "", Madrid, 1905
File:Cajal Retina.jpg, From "Structure of the Mammalian Retina
The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...
" Madrid, 1900
File:PurkinjeCell.jpg, Drawing of Purkinje cell
Purkinje cells, or Purkinje neurons, are a class of GABAergic inhibitory neurons located in the cerebellum. They are named after their discoverer, Czech people, Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, who characterized the cells in 1839.
Stru ...
s (A) and granule cells (B) from pigeon cerebellum by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, 1899. Instituto Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
File:Cajal-Retzius cell drawing by Cajal 1891.gif, Drawing of Cajal-Retzius cells, 1891
File:Cajal cortex drawings.png, Drawn in 1899, taken from the book "Comparative study of the sensory areas of the human cortex"
File:CajalChiasmTheory.png, alt=Drawing, showing how arrow halves are projected on the eyes' retina, crossed by the optic chiasm and mapped correctly to the visual cortex, schema of the visual map theory (1898). O=Optic chiasm; C=Visual (and motor) cortex; M, S=Decussating pathways; R, G: Sensory nerves, motor ganglia.
File:Purkinje cell by Cajal.png, alt=Purkinje cell by Cajal, Purkinje cell of the human cerebellum. Golgi method. -a, axon; b, recurrent collateral; c and d, spaces in the dendritic arborization for stellate cells, by Santiago Ramón y Cajal.(see Fig. 9 in Ref.)
See also
* List of pathologists
A list of people notable in the field of pathology.
A
* John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, neuropathologist and philosopher.
* Maude Abbott (1869–1940), Canadian pathologist, one of the earliest women graduated in medicine, expert in co ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
* (Review of the work of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
winners Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal)
* including the Nobel Lecture on December 12, 1906 ''The Structure and Connexions of Neurons''
* Marina Bentivogli
Life and discoveries of Cajal
Nobel Prizes and Laureates, 20 April 1998
Centro Virtual Cervantes
* Javier de Felip
www.psu.edu The Pennsylvania State University, 1998
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon Y Cajal, Santiago
1852 births
1934 deaths
People from Navarre
Former atheists and agnostics
20th-century Spanish physicians
19th-century Spanish physicians
Spanish neuroscientists
History of neuroscience
Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine
Spanish Nobel laureates
Spanish pathologists
Spanish anatomists
Spanish scientists
Spanish military doctors
Histologists
Spanish Freemasons
Members of the Royal Spanish Academy
Complutense University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid alumni
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
University of Zaragoza alumni