Abstract
ABSTRACTThe work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal is difficult to understand without knowing the personalities of Justo, his father, and his brother Pedro. His father practically forced the two brothers to study medicine. Thanks to that, Santiago was able to combine his artistic talent with histology and wonderfully describe cerebral architecture. Pedro was a faithful brother and above all a friend of Santiago, and they worked together for years. Pedro was able to demonstrate the theories of his brother in nonmammalian amniotes, concluding that the basic elements of the nervous system are common to these animals and he provided images that served Santiago to formulate the theory of dynamic polarization. Pedro, who decided to remain in the shadow of his brother, was a very complete doctor, pathologist and gynecologist, who made interesting contributions in all these fields and above all was a great humanist who left an important personal and scientific legacy. Anat Rec, 2019. © 2019 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists. Anat Rec, 303:1189–1202, 2020. © 2019 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists.
Highlights
Life was not easy for the young Justo Ramón Casasús, who was the third son of a humble family of farmers from Larrés, a town close to Jaca, in the province of Huesca, in the north of Spain (Garcés Romeo, 1987; De Carlos, 2001)
The boy had very high aspirations and, at just 16 years old, he left the family home and moved to a nearby town, Javierrelatre, where he began working as a surgeon’s apprentice. This was his first contact with medicine and he stayed with the discipline for the rest of his life
Justo refused to give up and decided to take a risk. He left his job in the hospital and moved to Barcelona to continue his study, where he worked once again in a barbershop in the Sarriá neighborhood, which allowed him to pay his way during that time
Summary
He combined work with study and managed to pass his high-school degree with good marks. Still working in the barbershop, he passed the entrance exams to a place as a physician’s assistant in the Hospital Provincial: this was a permanent position Not content with this new success, Justo decided to continue studying to become a surgeon. Justo refused to give up and decided to take a risk He left his job in the hospital and moved to Barcelona to continue his study, where he worked once again in a barbershop in the Sarriá neighborhood, which allowed him to pay his way during that time. From Larrés he moved to the town of Luna, in the province of Zaragoza, to Valpalmas where his daughters Pabla and Jorga were born Justo left his wife and children in Valpalmas and moved to Madrid; there, he studied for a medical degree, which he obtained in 1858 at the age of 35.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
