A VENEZUELAN ANATOMIST CITED IN THE HUMAN ANATOMY TREATISE TESTUT-LATARJET

Rafael Romero-Reverón

doi:10.21272/eumj.2020;8(4):402-406

Abstract

Le traité d'anatomie Testut-Latarjet (The human anatomy Testut-Latarjet treatise) published in 1887, is considered one of the most complete on human anatomy, with detailed descriptions of the human body and anthropological concepts, accompanied by philosophical and anthropological concepts. This anatomy treatise is still a very useful teaching tool in many Latin American and European Medical Faculties. In 1902, this anatomical treatise won the Saintour Prize, awarded by the French Academy of Medicine and since 1910 it has been translated into Spanish, Italian, German and other languages. The Testut-Latarjet treatise on human anatomy consists of four volumes with a total of 4,935 pages in its 1960 Spanish edition, as well as 4,144 highly detailed illustrations in color. The 1960 Spanish edition of Testut-Latarjet treatise in its volume IV included a citing of the doctoral thesis: El elemento nervioso en el apendice libre. Sus aplicaciones quirurgicas (External innervation of the cecal appendix: its surgical applications) written in 1943 by Rubén Rodríguez Escovar, M. D., a Venezuelan anatomist and surgeon, who held the Department of Human Anatomy at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, distinguishing himself as teacher and researcher over a period of 40 years. Certainly, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is not in the greatest group of prominent anatomists mentioned in the Treatise. Nevertheless, on merit alone for his research about meso-appendicular region’s innervations, he was cited into Testut-Latarjet‘s treatise. As far as the present author knows, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is the sole Non-European anatomist to be mentioned in the outstanding Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise.

Highlights

Human anatomy has historically been a cornerstone in medical education world-wide
The main objective of this paper is to review the information available about Rodriguez Escovar’s doctoral thesis cited in the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise, Spanish edition, in 1960.The Testut-Latarjet human anatomy treatise: its use in the Universidad Central de Venezuela
During the Spanish colonial period in Venezuela, there were no books for the study of human anatomy: there were only notes, written and transmitted over time by Lorenzo Campins y Ballester, Spanish physician who founded medical studies in Caracas,Venezuela in 1763 at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Caracas, which was already established in 1721 [1]

Summary

Introduction

Human anatomy has historically been a cornerstone in medical education world-wide. By learning gross anatomy, medical students get a first approach about the structure of the human body which is the basis for understanding pathologic and clinical problems. The Rodriguez Escovar’s research in his doctoral thesis is cited in the ninth edition in Spanish, dated 1960, of the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise in Volume IV, page 429 where it says, Inervación extrínseca – El profesor doctor Rubén Rodríguez de la Universidad de Caracas, ha descrito un elemento nervioso especial, formanación extrínseca, que determina la sensibilidad de la regíón mesoapendicular", “Extrinsic innervation – the professor, Dr Ruben Rodriguez of Caracas University, has described a special nervous element of extrinsic formation, that determines the sensibility of the mesoappendicular region” [10] In this paragraph we found a mistake, Salvat’s editor’s use the inaccurate words Universidad de Caracas as an alternative to Universidad Central de Venezuela. Rodriguez Escovar’s anatomical description is a contribution to the teaching and learning of human anatomy concerning extrinsic innervation of the cecal appendix with possible clinicalsurgical application

Discussion

Conflict of interest