Charles Sherrington - The Synapse From Antiquity to Actual Status

This paper aim is to discuss and clarify about the way we perceived the functionality of the synapse since 4th century BC up to modern times and actual status. The discussions over the way synapses work began over 2400 years ago and it all started from the simple question of how the locomotive system works and how do the muscles contract. The rst who discussed about this concept was Plato during the 4th century BC. We are discussing about René Descartes (1596-1650) depiction of a clear view in the book entitled “De Homine” (1662) over the view of the brain and the innervation of the body. In modern times, the word “synapse” was coined for the rst time in Michael Foster's 7th Edition “Textbook of Physiology” of 1897 , for which Sherrington wrote 3 chapters. He proposed his former Professor to introduce the word “synapse” which comes from Greek and means “conjunction”. For this discovery, Charles Sherrington and Edgar Douglas Adrian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1932.

La vivencia militar de Santiago Ramón y Cajal en Cuba: capitán médico en Camagüey / The military experience of Santiago Ramón y Cajal in Cuba: medical captain in Camagüey

RESUMEN El presente trabajo aborda la presencia del eminente neurocientífico, Premio Nobel de Medicina, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, en Cuba donde sirvió en su juventud como médico militar durante la Guerra de los Diez Años. En 1874, Cajal fue destinado al Ejército Expedicionario de Cuba como capitán de Sanidad Militar, permaneciendo en la isla durante catorce meses. El futuro histólogo cumplió servicio en el peor destino posible, las enfermerías de campaña de Vista Hermosa y de San Isidro, situadas en la trocha de Bagá, en el distrito de Puerto Príncipe (hoy Camagüey), en plena e insalubre manigua. En estas enfermerías, atendió a soldados heridos en campaña y a una gran cantidad de soldados enfermos, fundamentalmente de malaria y disentería. También trabajó, durante un mes y medio, recuperándose de las fiebres palúdicas, en el cuerpo de médicos de guardia del Hospital Militar de Puerto Príncipe. El propio Cajal enfermó de malaria y disentería, fue diagnosticado de caquexia palúdica grave y declarado "inutilizado en campaña", pudiendo regresar a España en junio de 1875. En esta experiencia cubana, Cajal descubrió el ambiente de corrupción de la administración colonial, con retrasos injustificados del cobro de salarios, indiferencia del mando y fraudes en las raciones de alimentación de sus enfermos. En este trabajo, también se describe la percepción de Cajal de la isla de Cuba, de sus gentes y de su fauna y flora. La impronta de Cuba y del conflicto bélico marcaría profundamente el ánimo del científico durante toda su vida y ejerció un papel fundamental en la construcción de su pensamiento filosófico, social y político.

ABSTRACT This work addresses the presence of the eminent neuroscientist, Nobel Prize in Medicine, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, in Cuba, where he served, in his youth, as a military doctor during the Ten Years' War. In 1874, Cajal was assigned to the Expeditionary Army of Cuba as captain of Military Health, remaining on the island for fourteen months. The future histologist served in the worst possible destination, the Vista Hermosa and San Isidro field infirmaries, located on the Trocha of Bagá, in the district of Puerto Príncipe (now Camagüey), in the middle of the unsanitary manigua. In these infirmaries, he treated soldiers wounded in the field and a large number of sick soldiers, mainly from malaria and dysentery. He also worked, for a month and a half, recovering from malarial fevers, as doctor on call at the Military Hospital of Puerto Príncipe. Cajal himself fell ill with malaria and dysentery, was diagnosed with severe malarial cachexia and declared "disabled for weapons", being able to return to Spain in June 1875. In this Cuban experience, Cajal discovered the environment of corruption in the colonial administration, with unjustified delays in the collection of salaries, indifference of the command and fraud in the food rations of his patients. In this work, Cajal's perception of the island of Cuba, its people and its fauna and flora is also described. The imprint of Cuba and the war conflict would deeply mark the spirit of the scientist throughout his life and played a fundamental role in the construction of his philosophical, social and political thought.

Entre neurônios e sinapses: as contribuições de Cajal e Athias para a medicina ibérica entre os séculos XIX e XX / Between neurons and synapses: the contributions of Cajal and Athias to Iberian medicine between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Resumo O presente estudo reflete sobre o trajeto da histologia na transição do século XIX para o XX, em Portugal e em Espanha, para estabelecer um paralelo entre as contribuições de Santiago Ramón y Cajal e Marck Athias, ambos determinantes para o desenvolvimento da medicina experimental na Península Ibérica, reconhecidos como pilares de uma nova mentalidade científica europeia, na alvorada do século XX. Neste estudo de caso, refletimos sobre as vicissitudes da construção da ciência na “periferia” europeia, no contexto da categoria historiográfica centro-periferia desenvolvida pelo grupo Science and Technology in the European Periphery (Step), confrontando a realidade ibérica com o modelo de ciência alemã, no período em estudo.

Abstract The trajectory of histology at the cusp of the twentieth century in Portugal and Spain is investigated to draw a parallel between the contributions of Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Marck Athias, both of whom were instrumental in the development of experimental medicine in the Iberian Peninsula and recognized as pillars of a new European scientific mindset at the dawn of the twentieth century. In this case study we reflect on the vicissitudes of the construction of science in the “periphery” of Europe, in the context of the historiographical category of center-periphery developed by STEP (Science and Technology in the European Periphery), contrasting the reality in Iberia with the model of German science in the period under study.

Don Santiago Felipe Ramón y Cajal y la medicina militar, vínculos con Cuba / Don Santiago Felipe Ramon y Cajal and the military medicine, links with Cuba

El médico español Don Santiago Felipe Ramón y Cajal participó en el ejercicio de la medicina militar durante la Guerra de los Diez Años de Cuba, en los hospitales de "Vista Hermosa" y "San Isidro" en Puerto Príncipe (actual provincia de Camagüey), como capitán médico de campaña. Durante su estadía, entre 1874 y 1875, enfermó de disentería y paludismo por lo que solicitó la licencia para abandonar Cuba, la cual fue otorgada el 30 de mayo de 1875, tras ser diagnosticado de caquexia palúdica grave y declarado inutilizado en campaña. Los ahorros de su desventurada estancia en Cuba fueron las bases financieras que le permitieron iniciar sus investigaciones histológicas. Se han realizado varios homenajes sobre la repercusión de la figura de Cajal en la Histología y las Neurociencias en Cuba. El objetivo del artículo es describir la estancia de Cajal en Cuba como médico militar, así como los vínculos actuales en la isla, que transitan desde su designación como Académico de Mérito de la Academia de Ciencias Médicas, Físicas y Naturales de La Habana en 1908, hasta la creación de la Cátedra Honorífica Santiago Ramón y Cajal de la Universidad de La Habana el 10 de diciembre de 2011.

Don Santiago Felipe Ramón y Cajal practiced military medicine in the Ten Year War in Cuba in "Vista Hermosa" and "San Isidro" hospitals located in Puerto Príncipe (Camagüey province today) as battlefield physician. During his stay from 1874 to 1875, he got sick from dysentery and malaria, so he asked for permission to leave Cuba and this was granted on May 30, 1875, after being diagnosed of serious malarial caquexia and declared as a soldier that could no longer be involved in the battlefield campaign. The money savings of his unfortunate stay in Cuba set the financial bases for the starting of his histological research work. There have been a number of activities to highlight the repercussion of Cajal´ s work on Histology and Neurosciences in our country. The objective of this article was to provide thorough details about the Cajal´s stay in Cuba as military physician as well as the present legacy of this personality in the island ranging from the appointment of Don Santiago as Emeritus Professor Academician of the Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences School in Havana in 1908 to the creation of the Honorary Chair "Santiago Ramón y Cajal" in Havana University on December 10th, 2011.