Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Biography

• Born May 1, 1852, Petilla de Aragón, Spain
• 1906 – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Died October 17, 1934, Madrid, Spain

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Medical Eponyms

Interstitial Cell of Cajal (ICC): Specialized, pacemaker cells in the gastrointestinal tract that mediate neurotransmission between autonomic motor neurons and smooth muscle cells.

Cajal-Retzius Cells: Specialized neurons that appear early in development and are crucial for forming the laminated structure of the cerebral cortex.

Cajal Body: A sub-nuclear organelle involved in the modification of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs).

Neuron Doctrine (or Neuron Theory): While not named “Cajal’s Theory,” his work with the Golgi stain provided the definitive evidence for this concept, establishing that the nervous system is composed of individual, non-continuous cells, rather than a continuous network.

Cajal’s Stain (or reduced silver nitrate method): Techniques he refined or developed to specifically highlight neurofibrils and neuronal structure, allowing for detailed, accurate illustrations that are still used today

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Major Publications

• Ramón y Cajal S. Manual de histología normal y técnica micrográfica. 1889 [2e 1893]
• Ramón y Cajal S. Les nouvelles idées sur la structure du système nerveux chez l’homme et chez les vertébrés. 1894
• Ramón y Cajal S. Beitrag zum Studium der Medulla Oblongata, des Kleinhirns und des Ursprungs der Gehirnnerven. 1896
• Ramón y Cajal S. Manual de anatomía patológica general. 1896
• Ramón y Cajal S. Die Structur des Chiasma opticum : nebst einer allgemeinen Theorie der Kreuzung der Nervenbahnen. 1899
• Ramón y Cajal S. Studien uber die Hirnrinde des Menschen. 1900
• Ramón y Cajal S. The structure and connexions of neurons Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1906
• Ramón y Cajal S. Histologie du système nerveux de l’homme & des vertébrés. 1909
• Ramón y Cajal S. Manual de histología normal y de técnica micrográfica para uso de estudiantes. 1914
• Ramón y Cajal S. Contribución al conocimiento de los centros nerviosos de los insectos. 1915
• Ramón y Cajal S. Recuerdos de mi vida. 1917 [Tome II]
• Ramón y Cajal S. Nêuronismo o reticularismo? : Las pruebas objetivas de la unidad anatómica de la celulas nerviosas. 1933
• Ramón y Cajal S. Reglas y consejos sobre investigación biológica. 1946

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References

• DeFelipe J, Jones EG. Cajal on the Cerebral Cortex: An Annotated Translation of the Complete Writings. 1988
• Ehrlich B. The Dreams of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. 2016
• Swanson LW. Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramon y Cajal. 2e 2017
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal – Facts. NobelPrize.org
• Buttner R, Lee J. De-eponymising anatomical terminology. 2020
• Bibliography. Ramón y Cajal, Santiago 1852-1934. WorldCat Identities