Ramón y Cajal explained how the brain works with these drawings

This researcher captured his discoveries in the form of beautiful images created by himself.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal is one of the most important and recognized Spanish figures in the field of neuroscience. and recognized in the field of neurosciences.

Winner of the Nobel Prize together with Golgi, this scientist contributed greatly to the understanding of the functioning of the nervous system and the network of neurons that form the brain. He also made detailed illustrations of the encephalon, he made detailed illustrations of the brain and neurons, with which to show the functioning of the brain.with which to show the functioning of the brain. In this article we make a brief review of his illustrations and his contributions to neuroscience.

Brief biography

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was born in 1852 in the Navarrese town of Petilla de Aragón. Son of Antonia Cajal and Justo Ramón, he spent his childhood constantly changing his residence because his father was a surgeon. Since he was a child he had great artistic abilities, dreaming of becoming a painter.He dreamed of becoming a painter, although his father would end up convincing him to study medicine. He graduated from the University of Zaragoza in 1873, and would later be sent to the war in Cuba where he would work as a doctor.

After returning, he would get his doctorate in Madrid. He would later marry Silveria Fañanás García and have seven children. It would be in 1887 when he would move to Barcelona, place where he would make some of his main discoveries, being the first to isolate and study the neuron as a key element of the nervous system. as a key element of the nervous system, or the connections between these cells.

In 1892 he returned to Madrid, where he lived until his death. In 1906 he received, together with the Italian Camillo Golgi, the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. He retired in 1926, his wife died of tuberculosis four years later. He died on October 17, 1934 due to coronary problems linked to intestinal problems.

Ramón y Cajal and his images: methods used

During the years he spent doing research, Ramón y Cajal discovered a great deal of information regarding the functioning and structure of the nervous system. How?

In making his observations, this researcher used the method of staining used the staining method created by Camile Golgiwhich, using silver chromate, allowed the observation of part of the brain tissue. Ramón y Cajal introduced several improvements in order to obtain a sharper image, as well as thinking of investigating young cells in order to be able to distinguish whether the brain is a continuous element or is formed by simpler structures.

However, he encountered many difficulties in reflecting his discoveries. At that time, current imaging techniques did not exist, and it was very difficult for a scientist to show the world a true reflection of what was happening at the microscopic level. the world a true reflection of what was going on at the microscopic level, beyond mere description. beyond mere description. This researcher would use illustration for this purpose.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal had not abandoned the artistic side that he had already shown in his childhood. The researcher took great pleasure in representing his discoveries pictorially, as well as allowing him to clearly show the results of his observations to others. Thanks to them, we can see how the researcher clearly established aspects such as the morphology of neurons and multiple components. and multiple components, being his drawings a work of great scientific utility that allowed us to know the shape and imagine the functioning of the basic units of the nervous system, the neurons.

For him, a good drawing meant the creation of scientific documentation of great value, regardless of the interpretation given to it. The images created by Ramón y Cajal are a faithful representation of the nervous system and its organization, astonishing for their level of fidelity and accuracy, examples being the illustration of pyramidal neurons, astrocytes or microglia.

Discovering the world of neurons

Here you can see a selection of the drawings that Santiago Ramón y Cajal himself created to capture his findings.

Some of his discoveries

The role of Santiago Ramón y Cajal in the field of neuroscience is of fundamental importance. Not for nothing was he awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. The reason for such importance is due to the great discoveries he made, some of which are described below.

First, we owe to Ramón y Cajal the knowledge that the basic unit of the nervous system is the neuron. the basic unit of the nervous system is the neuron.. Prior to him, the existence of the neuronal theory (according to which neurons are the basic element of the neuronal network, based on the existence of basic elements which, although they communicate with each other, are not arranged in a continuous manner) and of the reticular theory (according to which neurons are the basic element of the neuronal network, based on the existence of basic elements which, although they communicate with each other, are not arranged continuously). and the reticular theory (which proposes that the nervous system is a continuous network) hypothesized that the nervous system was a single set of interconnected networks that functioned in unison.

Thanks to the modifications in Golgi staining, the Spanish researcher would realize that although the nervous system acts as a system, it is composed of separate and independent cells that, although they have some connection, do not touch each other because there is a synaptic space between them. Thus, Ramón y Cajal would demonstrate the neuronal theory, giving rise to the doctrine of the neuron, which is still valid today.

His theories also reflected the way in which the nervous impulse is transmitted through the nervous system.. For example, his research generated an explanation as to why the nerve impulse travels only in one direction, the so-called law of dynamic polarization.

Finally, another of his discoveries has to do with the discovery and analysis of parts of neurons, such as the dendritic spineswhich were previously considered a product of the functioning of the nervous system. Now we know, thanks to him, that these spines are an important part of each neuron and that they actively participate in the transmission of information.