What do you think?
Rate this book
Recuerdos de mi vida #2
Recuerdos de mi vida; 2
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
632 pages, Hardcover
Published August 27, 2016
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
191 books119 followersSantiago 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 13, 2023
Este es el segundo tomo de la autobiografía de Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
Mi reseña del primer tomo está aquí:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
El segundo tomo no se centra tanto en su propia biografía, como en sus descubrimientos científicos más importantes, con muchísimos dibujos originales. Va siguiendo cronológicamente el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas de teñido de las preparaciones, algunas de las cuales desarrolló él mismo (en lo que le ayudó su conocimiento de la fotografía y el revelado), y que abrían nuevos campos de observación antes desconocidos. Estudia comparativamente los distintos tipos de neuronas en invertebrados y vertebrados, su conexión unas con otras, y más tarde la estructura del citoplasma; su extremada complejidad en el cerebro humano; la estructura de la retina en los vertebrados y en los insectos, la regeneración del tejido nervioso dañado, etc.
Alternando con los capítulos científicos, cuenta su primera visita a Berlin y el reconocimiento de sus primeros descubrimientos; la visita a Londres para dar una conferencia en la Royal Society; un viaje a los EEUU al que fueron invitados otros científicos europeos como August Forel, Angelo Mosso y C. E. Picard; reflexiones sobre los sistemas educativos de los países que visita; el establecimiento de un laboratorio de investigación en la universidad de Madrid en el que se formaron muchos de sus estudiantes; el viaje a Estocolmo para recibir el Premio Nobel; y varias reflexiones sobre la investigación científica, el trabajo constante y su influencia en la sociedad.
Otro detalle que aparece en la película (y que parece demasiada coincidencia para aumentar la tensión dramática) sí que está sacado de sus memorias:
"Una de mis hijas, la primera nacida en Barcelona, fué víctima de la inexorable meningitis, contraída durante la convalecencia del sarampión. Porque en las grandes y húmedas urbes toda debilidad resulta peligrosa. (...) ¡Pobre Enriqueta!... Su imagen pálida y doliente vive en mi memoria, asociada, por singular y amargo contraste, á uno de mis descubrimientos más bellos: el cilindro-eje de los granos del cerebelo y su continuación con las fibrillas paralelas de la capa molecular. Profundamente desvelado, y rendido de fatiga y de pena, dí en la manía de embriagarme, durante las altas horas de la noche, con la luz del microscopio, á fin de adormecer mis crueles torturas. Y cierta noche aciaga, cuando las tinieblas comenzaban á abatirse sobre un sér inocente, brilló de repente en mi espíritu el resplandor de una nueva verdad... Pero no renovemos tristes recuerdos. Además, ¿á quién importan estas cosas?..."
Mi reseña del primer tomo está aquí:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
El segundo tomo no se centra tanto en su propia biografía, como en sus descubrimientos científicos más importantes, con muchísimos dibujos originales. Va siguiendo cronológicamente el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas de teñido de las preparaciones, algunas de las cuales desarrolló él mismo (en lo que le ayudó su conocimiento de la fotografía y el revelado), y que abrían nuevos campos de observación antes desconocidos. Estudia comparativamente los distintos tipos de neuronas en invertebrados y vertebrados, su conexión unas con otras, y más tarde la estructura del citoplasma; su extremada complejidad en el cerebro humano; la estructura de la retina en los vertebrados y en los insectos, la regeneración del tejido nervioso dañado, etc.
Alternando con los capítulos científicos, cuenta su primera visita a Berlin y el reconocimiento de sus primeros descubrimientos; la visita a Londres para dar una conferencia en la Royal Society; un viaje a los EEUU al que fueron invitados otros científicos europeos como August Forel, Angelo Mosso y C. E. Picard; reflexiones sobre los sistemas educativos de los países que visita; el establecimiento de un laboratorio de investigación en la universidad de Madrid en el que se formaron muchos de sus estudiantes; el viaje a Estocolmo para recibir el Premio Nobel; y varias reflexiones sobre la investigación científica, el trabajo constante y su influencia en la sociedad.
Otro detalle que aparece en la película (y que parece demasiada coincidencia para aumentar la tensión dramática) sí que está sacado de sus memorias:
"Una de mis hijas, la primera nacida en Barcelona, fué víctima de la inexorable meningitis, contraída durante la convalecencia del sarampión. Porque en las grandes y húmedas urbes toda debilidad resulta peligrosa. (...) ¡Pobre Enriqueta!... Su imagen pálida y doliente vive en mi memoria, asociada, por singular y amargo contraste, á uno de mis descubrimientos más bellos: el cilindro-eje de los granos del cerebelo y su continuación con las fibrillas paralelas de la capa molecular. Profundamente desvelado, y rendido de fatiga y de pena, dí en la manía de embriagarme, durante las altas horas de la noche, con la luz del microscopio, á fin de adormecer mis crueles torturas. Y cierta noche aciaga, cuando las tinieblas comenzaban á abatirse sobre un sér inocente, brilló de repente en mi espíritu el resplandor de una nueva verdad... Pero no renovemos tristes recuerdos. Además, ¿á quién importan estas cosas?..."
Displaying 1 of 1 review