Abstract
Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) is considered the father of modern neuroscience. He dedicated his entire life to the investigation of the nervous system and was a pioneer in the development of histological techniques to reveal its structure and function. Always meticulous in his methodology, towards the end of his life he wished to record all the various protocols that had been used in his laboratory over the years in order to provide a manual of histological procedures specifically designed for the study of the fine structure of the nervous system, both in health and disease. Under his supervision, his coworker, Fernando de Castro (1896–1967), whom he had personally trained, completed the task and the result was published in 1933, in Spanish, entitled Técnica micrográfica del sistema nervioso. After Cajal’s death, de Castro wanted to translate the book in order to make it available to a larger scientific community. However, the Spanish Civil War and the difficult post war years made any such task impossible. In 1972, Jaime Merchán, a pupil of de Castro’s, published a second, Spanish, annotated edition. Merchan was later embarked on an English translation, with additional explanations to help the modern reader understand the roots of the laborious histological procedures employed at the time of Cajal. Unfortunately, Merchán’s untimely death delayed its publication yet again and only now has it been completed. Finally, it is important to point out that many techniques described in the book remain widely used in many areas of neuroscience. Therefore, this book is not only of outstanding value as a historical document, but also important for modern neuroscientists who are interested in the microscopic visualization of the normal nervous system and how it is altered under pathological conditions.