From Moorish Surgery to Modern Research - Spain's Journey in Medicine

It is generally known that the most important medical contributions to the world have been made by scientists from the UK, Northern Europe, America, and Italy. Nevertheless, Spain has produced lesser-known but significant medical contributions to the global community, often by scientists working almost alone (like Ramón y Cajal), in small groups, or primarily in foreign institutions. This book aims to provide readers, both specialists and the general public, with a selected group of contributions made by these scientists to the world medical community. It will depict fascinating stories from the old Islamic-Jewish times and the Renaissance, intertwined with religious Counter-Reformation idealism, as well as the organization of marine expeditions to bring newly discovered vaccines to the world.
Moreover, we will describe the establishment of surgical schools in Spain, the discovery of anatomical structures, the invention of laryngoscopy in opera singers in Paris, and the beginnings of vascular surgery. In more recent times, we will continue with the pioneering discoveries in neuroscience by Ramón y Cajal and his school, the discoveries of enzymes by Ochoa's school, which are important for the synthesis of RNA and DNA, worldwide known cardiologists, and the work of Oró in understanding the origin of life, concluding with current studies on genetics and cellular aging. Additionally, the Spanish Surgical Society has recently contributed to the development of one of the best-organized transplantation systems in the world and has taught the New Minimally Invasive Surgery abroad. This book is both enjoyable and instructive. The target group will be really very large.

Sommario

MUSLIM-JEWISH MEDICINE IN AL-ANDALUS: ABULCASIS AND MAIMONIDES.- MIGUEL SERVET (MICHAEL SERVETUS): Between heresy and science. Discovery of the minor circulation.- DIONISIO DAZA CHACON. The most relevant Spanish surgeon of the Renaissance, in the Spanish Empire.- QUININE: Discovery and diffusion of quinine throughout the world for the treatment of malaria.- ANTONIO DE GIMBERNAT: The first school of Surgery in Spain and his contributions to inguinal anatomy.- THE ROYAL PHILANTROPIC VACCINE EXPEDITION, THE BALMIS EXPEDITION (1804-1812). The smallpox vaccine that circled the globe.- MANUEL GARCIA: The inventor of the laryngoscope and pioneer of voice physiology.- JOSÉ GOYANES CAPDEVILA: Performed the first vascular bypass in history on 12 June 1906, published in El Siglo Médico .- FIDEL PAGÉS MIRAVÉ: Discovery of Epidural Anaesthesia (metameric anesthesia). War surgery in the RIF (Morocco).- SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL: Cajal and the Spanish Neurological School.- JOAQUÍN ALBARRÁN Y DOMÍNGUEZ: Universal figure in Urology.- PÍO DEL RÍO HORTEGA: Discoverer of the Neuroglia and the Tumor´s classification of Central Nervous System.- FERNANDO DE CASTRO: Disciple of Cajal, key figure in the Spanish Neurological School and his transcendent discovery of the arterial chemoreceptors at the carotid body.- JOSEP TRUETA I RASPALL: Surgeon, researcher and committed citizen.- CARLOS JIMÉNEZ DÍAZ: Basic Sciences are fundamental for Clinic Medicine.- SEVERO OCHOA Y ALBORNOZ: Discovering enzymes and the genetic code and founding the Spanish Society of Biochemistry.- DON CARLOS AND DON SEVERO: Double partners for the success of Spanish biomedical science.- FRANCESC DURAN REYNALS: Beyond the viral theory of cancer.- FRANCISCO ORTS LLORCA: The Anatomy and development of experimental embryology.- THE ABC OF SPANISH OPHTHALMOLOGY: ARRUGA, BARRAQUER AND CASTROVIEJO.- FRANCISCO GRANDE COVIÁN: Physiology of nutrition.- THE GIL VERNET SAGA IN UROLOGY.- SARA BORRELL RUIZ: Steroid Hormones.- JOAN ORÓ: The origin of Life.- CARMEN GIL FERNÁNDEZ: Virology in Spain.- THE NATIONAL TRANSPLANT ORGANIZATION: A model for the world.- CONVERSATIONS WITH MARIANO BARBACID: A life of fighting cancer.- IN SEARCH OF THE SECRET OF SUDDEN DEATH: THE BRUGADA SYNDROME.- NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY: The race to discover hypothalamic hormones.- MARGARITA SALAS: The polymerase and DNA replication.- VALENTÍN FUSTER: A life with purpose.- LUIS ROJAS MARCOS: The restless psychiatrist.- GABRIELLA MORREALE: Iodine and thyroid hormones in brain development.- MAGDALENA UGARTE: Inherited Metabolic Diseases.- FRANCISCO MARTINEZ MOJICA: Francis Mojica, discoverer of the CRISPR systems in prokaryotes.- ANTONIO GARCIA-BELLIDO: The genetic basis of development and morphogenesis.- MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY (MIS) IN SPAIN AND ITS DIFFU

Info autore

Miguel A. Cuesta is Emeritus Professor of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery at Amsterdam UMC (University of Amsterdam). His research has focused on the development and implementation of minimally invasive techniques in the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal cancer.
He has participated as principal investigator and collaborator in ten randomized controlled trials that have demonstrated the advantages of minimally invasive surgery in gastrointestinal cancer over conventional surgery. In addition, he has carried out extensive international teaching activities.
He was distinguished as Knight of Honor (Ridder in de Orde of Nederlandse Leeuw) by the King of the Netherlands, is an honorary member of various surgical societies in Spain, Germany, Poland, Chile, and Peru, and received the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
He is the author of more than 360 scientific publications (pubmed), five books on surgery, and five historical novels in Spanish.
Francisco Mateo Vallejo is Doctor of Medicine, specialized in General and Digestive Surgery, with a particular focus on minimally invasive oncological gastrointestinal surgery. Expert in Healthcare Quality and Clinical Management from the University of Granada. Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of Surgery at the University of Cádiz. Head of the Department of Surgery at Jerez Hospital for 8 years. Full Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Cádiz, holding the Surgery Chair.
He has published works in books and scientific journals, has been a speaker at more than 80 specialty congresses, and has presented over 200 communications at national and international conferences.
He serves as a reviewer for the International Journal of Surgery, Annals of Medicine and Surgery, and Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Con la collaborazione di: Miguel Cuesta (Editore), Mateo Vallejo (Editore), Francisco Mateo Vallejo (Editore)
• Editore: Springer, Berlin
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 03.02.2026
• EAN: 9783032122209
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3212220-9
• Illustrazioni: Approx. 325 p. 145 illus., 120 illus. in color.
• Categorie: Scienze naturali, medicina, informatica, tecnica > Medicina > Tematiche generali; Spain, vascular surgery, History of Medicine, Oncology, surgical oncology, Vascular Diseases, Neurohistology, Biochemistry & Genetics, Disease Genetics, Development of Medicine, Spanish Medicine