Gaspar Roque Francisco Narciso Casal Julian (31 December 1681–10 August 1759) was a Spanish

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

remembered for describing the Casal collar in

pellagra Pellagra is a disease caused by a lack of the vitamin niacin (vitamin B3). Symptoms include inflamed skin, diarrhea, dementia, and sores in the mouth. Areas of the skin exposed to either sunlight or friction are typically affected first. Over t ...

. Casal was born in Girona

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

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 ...

to Federico Casal y Dajón and Magdalena Julian. He grew up in Utrillas and is thought to have apprenticed at

Atienza Atienza () is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 437 inhabitants. The Castle of Atienza is situated here. There were ancient Celtiberian set ...

with Juan Manuel Rodriguez de Lima, an apothecary to Pope Innocent XI. In He began to practice medicine in Oviedo from 1720 to 1751, at which time he moved to

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as King Ferdinand's physician. He became a friend of Fr. Benito Feyjóo y Montenegro and Fr. Martin Sarmiento who encouraged his studies. He described pellagra in a book published in 1762, calling it ''mal de la rose'' due to the red rash seen on the hands and feet of sufferers. His “Historia affectionum quarundam regionis hujus familiarum” described scabies and treatment using sulfur ointment. He wrote on the natural history of Asturias which was published posthumously in 1762. He married Maria Ruiz and had two sons. After her death he married Maria Álvarez Rodríguez Arango and had two more children.

References

External links

Biography
. Galeria de Metges Catalans. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
Historia natural y médica del Principado de Asturias / obra posthuma, que escribió del Doct. D. Gapar Casal
* 18th-century Spanish physicians 1681 births 1759 deaths {{Spain-med-bio-stub