Texture of the Nervous System of Man and the Vertebrates

by Santiago Ramón y Cajal

These volumes offer the scientific community the works and thoughts of Santiago Ramon y Cajal by the faithful rendition of the original Spanish version of the Texture of the Nervous System of Man and the Vertebrates (1899-1904), with additional facts contained in the French translation (1909-1911). These non-English versions are being quoted an average of 200 times yearly in the scientific literature. Unique features of the present work include: - Only authorized English translation of the original Spanish text, adhering as much as possible to the letter, with correction of the obvious errors already predicted by Cajal in his Preface. - Added facts appearing in the French version, with correction of old as well as new errors, the latter probably due to inaccuracies in translating into French some nuances of the Spanish language. - Uniform of nomenclature according to contemporary scientific English. - Annotations on Cajal's changing concepts over time, the elucidation of certain structures that do not have present day equivalents, and explanations of the many symbols appearing in illustrations but not mentioned in the corresponding original legends. - Most illustrations are reproductions of Cajal's original art work, still extant at the Cajal Museum in Madrid, with cross references to figure numbers of the Spanish and French versions. - Citations are given by author and year in the text, with an alphabetical list at the end of the volume, completed and corrected for accuracy against original publications. - Taxonomy glossary of species appearing in the text, with present scientific names, and their colloquial English counterparts. In sum, the collection represents the "definitive Cajal" to be used by scientists and scholars interested in the original writings of probably the most prominent neuroscientist of all times.

3 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 1999

About the author

Santiago Ramón y Cajal ForMemRS (Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo raˈmon i kaˈxal]; 1 May 1852 – 18 October 1934) was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, neuroscientist and Nobel laureate. His original pioneering investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain have led him to be designated by many as the father of modern neuroscience. His medical artistry was legendary, and hundreds of his drawings illustrating the delicate arborizations of brain cells are still in use for educational and training purposes.

Ramón y Cajal's early work was accomplished at the Universities of Zaragoza and Valencia, where he focused on the pathology of inflammation, the microbiology of cholera, and the structure of Epithelial cells and tissues. It was not until he moved to the University of Barcelona in 1887 that he learned Golgi's silver nitrate preparation and turned his attention to the central nervous system. During this period he made extensive studies of neural material covering many species and most major regions of the brain.

Ramón y Cajal made several major contributions to neuroanatomy. He discovered the axonal growth cone, and experimentally demonstrated that the relationship between nerve cells was not continuous but contiguous. This provided definitive evidence for what would later be known as "neuron doctrine", now widely considered the foundation of modern neuroscience. In debating neural network theories (e.g. neuron theory, reticular theory), Ramón y Cajal was a fierce defender of the neuron theory.

He provided detailed descriptions of cell types associated with neural structures, and produced excellent depictions of structures and their connectivity.

He was an advocate of the existence of dendritic spines, 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 would continue this study of input/output systems into cable theory and some of the earliest circuit analysis of neural structures.

He discovered a new type of cell, to be named after him: the interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC). This cell is found interleaved among neurons embedded within the smooth muscles lining the gut, serving as the generator and pacemaker of the slow waves of contraction that move material along the gastrointestine, vitally mediating neurotransmission from motor nerves to smooth muscle cells.

In his 1894 Croonian Lecture, he suggested in an extended metaphor that cortical pyramidal cells may become more elaborate with time, as a tree grows and extends its branches. He also devoted a considerable amount of his time to studying hypnosis (which he used to help his wife with birth labor) and parapsychological phenomena, but a book he had written on these areas got lost during the Spanish Civil War.

Cajal received many prizes, distinctions and societal memberships along his scientific career including and honorary Doctorates in Medicine of the Universities of Cambridge and Würzburg and an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy of the Clark University. Nevertheless the most famous distinction he was awarded was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 together with Italian Camillo Golgi "in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system". This was seen as quite controversial because Golgi, a stout reticularist, disagreed with Cajal in his view of the neuron doctrine.

The asteroid 117413 Ramonycajal is named in his honor. The Spanish public television filmed a biopic series to commemorate his life.