90 years since the death of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, father of modern neuroscience

Oct. 17 () –

This Thursday they are fulfilled 90 years since the death of Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Petilla de Aragón, May 1, 1852). Considered the father of modern neurosciencethe Spanish doctor, specialized in histology and pathological anatomy, died in Madrid on October 17, 1934.

He was born in Petilla de Aragón, son of Justo Ramón Casasús and Antonia Cajal. His father was a doctor-surgeon, a profession that forced the family to change residence constantly, according to the biography published by the Cervantes Institute.

So, When he was barely two years old, the family left Petilla de Aragón to move to Larrés, his father’s town, and from there to Luna (1855), Valpalmas (1856), and Ayerbe (1860).

He completed his primary studies with the Piarists of Jaca and his high school studies at the Huesca Institute, in a time marked by social unrest, the exile of Isabel II and the First Republic. A stage in which he begins to show his rebellion, refusing to memorize conceptshe also developed drawing skills for which he seemed to be gifted, drawings that he always made in contact with nature, a passion that led him to another, his love of the mountains.

In 1870, he took the first Medicine course in Zaragoza. Don Justo is appointed surgeon at the Provincial Hospital and the entire family moves to Zaragoza. He completed his studies successfully and after graduating in 1873, he was called up to join the ranks. Military service was mandatory according to a law established by Emilio Castelar, president of the First Republic. When I had been in the military for a few months, oppositions were called for the Military Health Corps. After finishing number 6, he entered and was immediately assigned to Cuba.

Once he returned to Spain (1875), he was appointed interim assistant in Anatomy at the University of Zaragoza and two years later he obtained his doctorate at the University of Madrid, with the Thesis Pathogenesis of Inflammation. Next, he won the position of director of the Anatomical Museum of Zaragoza, a position he held until he obtained the chair of General Anatomy at the University of Valencia (1883); Later he taught in Barcelona (1887) and Madrid (1892).

His contributions to the knowledge of the central and peripheral nervous system make him the creator of modern neuroanatomy.. His descriptions and plates have served as a text for the training of generations of doctors around the world. He published more than 200 articles in national and foreign magazines.

His books include ‘Manual of normal histology and micrographic technique’ (1889), ‘Manual of general pathological anatomy’ (1890) or ‘Texture of the nervous system of man and vertebrates‘ (1904).

In 1907 he became the first president of the Board for the Expansion of Scientific Studies and Research, a position he held until his death. He participated in the main initiatives to create a scientific and educational infrastructure in Spain: Alfonso XIII National Institute of Hygiene and Council of Public Instruction (1900); Biological Research Laboratory (1900) and Cajal Institute (1920).

In 1908 he was elected senator representing the University of Madrid, and two years later he was appointed senator for life. However, he did not accept any appointment of political content, to the point that he rejected that of Minister of Public Instruction (1906).

Throughout his life he received numerous signs of recognition for his work: naming of schools and research centers. Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic (1890), Grand Cross of Alfonso XII (1902), Moscow International Prize (1900), Helmholtz gold medal of the Royal Academy of Berlin (1905).

THE CAJAL MUSEUM WILL HAVE ITS HEADQUARTERS IN MADRID

On June 25, the Council of Ministers approved the royal decree creating the Cajal Museum, as a state-owned National Museum, dependent on the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and whose objective will be to disseminate and do justice to the universal value of the legacy of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine in 1906 and ‘universal’ pioneer in neuroscience.

The royal decree establishes the central headquarters of the Cajal Museum in the city of Madrid and contemplates the possibility of launching subsidiary headquarters or those linked to the museum in other Spanish municipalities “through the subscription of the corresponding legal instruments of collaboration between the different administrations, entities and interested organizations”.

The royal decree establishes that the Cajal Museum will preserve “the assets belonging to the Cajal Legacy, current and those that may be incorporated in the future into its collections, as well as disseminate the legacy of Santiago Ramón y Cajal and his School.”

The Cajal Legacy consists of 28,222 documentary, bibliographic, scientific, technical, photographic and personal assets and was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest by the Government of Spain on April 2.

Ramón y Cajal’s will bequeathed to the Cajal Institute, belonging to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), his collection of microscopic preparations and scientific instruments, as well as the conservation of the medals and decorations, scientific monographs, books, apparatus and preparations of the laboratory.

The functions of the Cajal Museum will be the exhibition, conservation and custody of the assets assigned to it as a stable collection of the Museum, as well as, in general, the cataloguing, restoration and orderly exhibition of any collections of historical, artistic, scientific or technical value. that form part of their funds.

Its functions also include the temporary exhibition of other collections of historical, artistic, scientific or technical themes and value in accordance with the Museum’s objective; the documentation of its collections; the making available to researchers of the material kept in the Museum for research purposes regarding its collections; or the development of description and cataloging instruments for the scientific analysis of the funds assigned to it.

Likewise, it will be in charge of the development of an informative and didactic activity regarding the Cajal Legacy and neurosciences, including the preparation and publication of catalogues, monographs and other publications related to them; of cooperation and promotion of relations with other museums and institutions in the same thematic field, both at the national and international level; and will have any other function that is entrusted to it in its statutory rules or by legal or regulatory provision.

In 2021, the Government of Spain, at the proposal of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, declared the “Ramón y Cajal Research Year” the period between 2022 and 2025, obtaining the declaration of Exceptional Event of Public Interest.

Its implementation responds to the objective of highlighting and protecting the legacy of a national and international reference in the field of neuroscience, as well as a unique opportunity to celebrate the science around the figure of Cajal.