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Viewing the brain through the master hand of Ramon y Cajal

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 4, pages 71–77 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

For most neuroscientists, the roots of our discipline stem from Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the Spanish scientist who, during almost half a century of patient work, showed that the nervous system is made up of independent nerve cells. His studies on the anatomical organization of the brain are still a source of inspiration for many of us. His monumental body of work fully justifies that Ramón y Cajal be singled out as the founder of modern neuroscience.

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Figure 1: Frog capillaries showing blood circulation and the passage of leucocytes through the capillary wall.
Figure 2: Chick cerebellum.
Figure 3: Human cerebellum.
Figure 4: Perineuronal astrocytes.
Figure 5: The organization of a folium of the cerebellar cortex.
Figure 6: Some of the connections between cells of the dentate gyrus.
Figure 7: Postscript of a letter sent by Ramón y Cajal to his pupil Fernando de Castro on 19 July 1927.

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Acknowledgements

I thank J. Lerma and H. Korn for useful discussions.

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  1. holds the Catedra de Neurobiología del Desarrollo 'Remedios Caro Almela' at the Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández, San Juan, 03550, Alicante, Spain

    Constantino Sotelo

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DATABASES

OMIM

Kallmann syndrome

FURTHER INFORMATION

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

Ramón y Cajal, Santiago

MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences

Cajal, Santiago Ramón y

Golgi, Camillo

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Sotelo, C. Viewing the brain through the master hand of Ramon y Cajal. Nat Rev Neurosci 4, 71–77 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1010

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