Santiago Ramón y Cajal in the Literary Work of an Ecuadorian Professor

Abstract

Manuel Ignacio Monteros Valdivieso was an Ecuadorian professor based in Cuba, who stood out for a prolific literary production on histology, history of medicine and Ecuador. Among the books he wrote in Cuba is the biography of the Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. This work aims to picture the intellectual work of Manuel I. Monteros Valdivieso through his work “Vida de Cajal. Synthesis and perpetuation of the work of the Genius of Spain”. The historiographical and analytical-synthetic method was used. A bibliographic search was carried out in Cumed, PubMed, Scopus, Dialnet and SciELO and other digital sources. With his own style, Valdivieso undertook this biographical work on the Spanish scientist Cajal, extolling his contributions to neuroscience. The book written by Valdivieso is the most prominent work by a Latin American author on the Spanish scientist, who was known for his contributions to neuroscience, but little is known about the sacrifices and adversities he had to face, as well as his self-sacrifice and perseverance with those who achieved triumphs in the investigation. Valdivieso was self-taught, his intellectual production reached its peak with the publication of the book on Cajal, which allowed Cubans to get to better know the famous Spaniard. Valdivieso was respected by the teaching staff and his students, who remember the valuable qualities that characterized him. His work constitutes a valuable contribution to the historiography of Cuban medicine.