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This paper examines the relationship between the public image of Pedro Gonzólez de Velasco (1815-1882), famous for his anatomical collections and his Anthropological Museum, founded in 1875 in Madrid, and the popular legend related to the death, embalming and exhumation of his daughter Concepción. The doctor who is committed to the nation becomes a mad scientist, and his official biography is transformed into an urban legend. Beyond the merely anecdotal, I show how the aesthetics associated with female corpses and artificial women organize cultural imaginaries, bringing together medical discourses and literary and artistic representations.

In this paper, we analyse the contribution of the anatomical school of José Escolar (1913-1998) to embryology during the first two decades of the Francoist dictatorship. Special attention is paid to the process by which the Spanish group, with the support of the new Superior National Research Council, made contact with the German morphology being developed by Hugo Spatz (1888-1979) at the Max Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung. Our study reveals the numerous influences that finally led to the anatomy and embryology of Escolar. In Spain, we found a direct influence of the Gegenbaurian morphology of Gumersindo Sánchez Guisande (1894-1976) and the neuroanatomy of Juan José Barcia Goyanes (1901-2003), full of references to studies by Braus. International contacts of the "Escolarian group", first with North America and then with Germany, created a homogeneous group with a single anatomy (functional and ontophylogenetic) but with so many research interests that subspecialisations had to be developed. An important embryological work resulted from an intense relationship with the German anatomical community during the 1950s. Escolar worked in this field on the development of the amygdala and allocortex, Fernando Reinoso studied the embryology of the diencephalon and Smith Victor Agreda, along with the German scientist Rudolf Diepen, made some important discoveries on the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary system.

Alter Laboratories and the group of companies developed by Juan José Alonso Grijalba (1894-1962) under Franco's regime held the Catholic social doctrine as the foundation of his business. This pharmacist was a strong advocate and propagandist of these ideas. In this paper, we outline the biography of this entrepreneur, describe his ideological principles, and analyze how these theories were implemented in the Alter Laboratories in their economic, cultural-recreational, and moral-religious dimensions. The business approach revealed by the writings of Juan José Alonso is a "patriarchal patronage"; his goal appears to have been the conversion of Alter into a "factory convent" with the programmatic foundations of Catholic humanism, in which the employer assumes a clearly despotic role and the intervention of workers is reduced to accepting the standards and perks offered by the employer.

This paper explores the major role of suicide in the cultural criticism deployed by 19th century Spanish doctors by analysing the most important theoretical models that inspired their contributions to its aetiology. In the first half of the century, the most commonly debated causal factor was the passions, which were thought to stand in a permanent tension with a free, reflexive and conscious self, in accordance with the spiritualist doctrine that was then dominant. In the context of a growing somatisation of moral and intellectual phenomena, the notion of suicide as an act of free will was later modified, and it became considered the consequence of certain organic disturbances. However, this process did not alter the central role of suicidal behaviour within 19th-century cultural criticism, because the advent of degeneration theory meant that doctors finally had a doctrine that allowed them to combine biological determinism with the extended perception of a moral and social crisis threatening the stability and achievements of bourgeois society.

Federico Olóriz introduced in Spain a method of identification based on fingerprints that is now used in various other countries. Among the numerous studies he performed for this purpose is a hitherto unpublished experiment reported in this paper. The objective was to test whether fleshy parts of fingers that undergo manipulation can maintain their dermal folds in a manner that permits their correct identification. Olóriz found that dermal folds produced by a simple ligation did not pose serious identification problems, while alterations resulting from sharp elements generated greater but in some way surmountable difficulties. A brief biography of Olóriz is first provided, with a summary of his studies on Anthropology and, in greater detail, his dedication to Forensic Anthropology, which led to the development of the so-called "Olóriz Method" of identification by means of fingerprints.

Towards the end of the 19th century, new medico-psychological approaches were applied to mediumship through the scientific study of spiritualist phenomena. The spiritualist idea of the medium was replaced with the notion of the medium as an unstable human being capable of emanating psychic forces unconsciously. This paper analyses the redefinition of mediumship through the polemical articles of the Catalan physician Victor Melcior. On one hand, this microhistory allows the local debate to be placed within the scientific international context, describing the relationships among spiritualism, medicine and psychopathology at that time. On the other hand, it permits analysis of the reactions of some spiritualists to Melcior's theories and of the consequences of this debate for spiritualism in general.

This paper deals with the arguments justifying the Government's passage of the Sovereign Ordinance of 7 May 1915, which officially established a course and qualification in Nursing in Spain; and examines how and why Medical and Surgical practicantes (medical assistants) reacted to this decision. The ordinance legalized nurses' care practices, thereby providing official recognition for a healthcare profession other than that of practicante. The Government based its approval on three arguments: the physicians' recommendations; deficiencies in the basic and professional training of practicantes"; and the fact that the nursing profession emerged as a new path providing Spanish women with an opportunity to acquire training and join the labour force. The new legislation was met with outrage by practicantes, who opposed it in the belief that it equated nurses' scope of practice to their own and thus jeopardized their future employment prospects. Additionally, they contended that nurses would be legally qualified to perform the same medical practices as they did, despite receiving their degrees in a shorter period of time with a less prolonged internship, at a lower economic cost and through less effort. Professional associations of practicantes immediately launched a campaign against the Sovereign Ordinance, meeting with the Minister of Public Instruction to request its repeal, organizing a massive telegram campaign directed at the minister, and requesting the nullity of the ordinance before the Supreme Court, which would reject the appeal by the practicantes two years later. Professional associations also used their press organs to publish the arguments of prominent practicantes, who vehemently voiced their opposition in extremist, uncompromising, radical, and ironic terms, arising from a strong gender ideology in tune with the patriarchal mentality of the era and the dominant position that male hegemony conferred to practicantes.

This paper examines the State's assumption of medical care for patients with "permanent needs" in 19th century Spain. These patients were the incurably ill, the chronically ill and the elderly. This process is contextualized within the liberal reforms of the Spanish healthcare system in the reign of Isabel 11 (1833-1868). The goal of these reforms was the creation and consolidation of a national health system that would gradually replace the religious health charities. Healthcare reform became necessary due to the increase in migration that started in the 1830's and intensified in the 1850's. Traditional care networks formed by the family, local community and religious charities were no longer available to those who had left their village or town. In addition, many religious charities were bankrupted by the seizure of their properties in a programme of confiscation. Similar healthcare reform processes were taking place in the United Kingdom, France and Germany, among other European countries, and involved significant changes in the lives of patients, who became strictly controlled and medicalised. My aim was to identify changes in the patients' experience of illness through a case study of the living conditions of inmates at the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Hospital for Incurable Men, based in Madrid from 1852 to 1949. This was one of the institutions devoted to caring for patients with "permanent needs" and was under the direct control of the General State Administration.

Beside the creation of national research institutions, the patronage work of the JAE (through scholarships and recognition given to Spanish scientists in the first third of the 20th century) was important in opening the door to the silver age of Spanish science. In the morphologic sciences, macroscopic anatomy was an almost closed science and in crisis with regard to the microscopic sciences and embryology. Despite this setting, the JAE chose to promote this science, importing European anatomical pedagogy and including the technologies and philosophy of the new dynamic anatomy under way on the continent. In this paper, we analyze the grantholders listed in the JAE archives and the studies that they published by them. We conclude that the utilization of these grants played an important role in promoting the international exchange necessary for the reform of a science in crisis, with anatomical pedagogy and technology being the major protagonists of this renewal.

In the summer of 1796, Pedro María González, a surgeon trained at the College of Cadiz, took part in an expedition commissioned by the Cadiz Consulate with the aim of initiating trading relationships with Smyrna, the most important commercial centre in the Ottoman Empire. On his return, he wrote a document to facilitate future business ventures by Spaniards, describing in detail the customs and traditions of the various social and ethnic groups that inhabited the city of Smyrna. In this paper, I analyse the view of the Turks held by Europeans in the 17th and 18th centuries and the ideological and conceptual factors underlying their negative opinions. I then describe the viewpoint of González himself, especially in relation to Jews, the ethnic group he studied in greatest depth. The fact that they shared a common language, Spanish, undoubtedly facilitated his relationships and his close analysis.

Although the socialist ideology of the Catalan psychiatrist Emilio Mira y López (1896-1964) is relatively well known, his psychological-political contribution has been ignored. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, Mira's psychological analysis of the social revolution is situated in the historical context of Catalonia and Spain before Franco's Dictatorship, taking account of biographical and political as well as scientific and cultural aspects. Second, the way in which Mira related psychology to politics is explored by examining the extent to which his scientific work reflected his socialist ideas.

This paper aims to analyse the role played by Medicine, against a background of social reform in the first third of the 20th Century, in helping to shape the nature of disabilities in Spain. We look at the legislation passed to regulate occupational accidents and the institutions set up to look after accident victims with physical or functional disabilities from the perspective developed in the new academic field of disability studies and using scientific and professional journals as well as documentation from Spain's legislative chambers as our main sources. We attempt to examine the extent to which these developments helped to transform the existing social perception of people with disabilities.

The mid-20th century opening of a public specialized Clinic for the treatment of patients affected by Leukaemia was a significant event in Alicante. It represented both the beginning of specialization in the field of blood diseases and an opportunity for the Provincial Hospital to enter the world of laboratory research. The social prestige of medical technologies, the introduction of a blood transfusion service and the figure of Dr. Mas Magro were the fundamental reasons behind the birth of this project in spite of its high cost. The aim of the paper is to analyze a case of the development of medical technologies at a local level.

This paper presents the first systematic analysis of the textual tradition of the Practica summaria attributed to Arnau de Vilanova. Its textual tradition, together with the evidence of expounded previously by other scholars, confirms Arnau's authorship of this work.

This paper reviews the studies for workers and craftsmen established in Granada early in the liberal period. In 1533, the teachings of the Conservatorio de Artes (Art School) of Madrid were extended to various Spanish cities with a view to providing industrial workers with basic education. In Granada, a Geometry and Mechanics chair and an Applied Chemistry chair were established under the control of the Soviedad Económica de Amigos del Pais. These chairs were held by Javier de Hore and Francisco de Paula Montells y Nadal, respectively. Although aimed at educating workers and craftsmen, few of these attended the lectures because the teaching level was too high for them. In fact, most of the attendees were university students. In 1837, Sociedad Económica ceased to manage the professorships, and only the Chemistry chair continued to operate; however, its studies grew gradually closer to the university curriculum (so much so that they were easily recognized by the University). In 1845, the holder of the Chemistry chair, Montells, was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the Philosophy Faculty of the University of Granada, which led to the eventual disappearance of the education programme for craftsmen in the city.

This paper endeavours to contribute to an understanding of the coexistence and complementarity between popular and university medicine in the Portugal of the first half of the 18th century. It begins by outlining the academic training of physicians and the publishing of medical books, concentrating on the study of advertisements published in the Gazeta de Lisboa from 1715 to 1750. These draw attention to the more frequent diseases in the population and the large number of remedies offered to treat them, and represents an example of the pluralism of medical practices exercised by qualified and qualified practitioners, Portuguese or otherwise.

This paper outlines a typology of medical consultation in the 18th century, with emphasis on those carried out with the physicians present. This practice did not differ from that of previous centuries. Medical consultation, as a specifically structured procedure, served as an instrument to define the hierarchy of those present. This reflected the professional instability of the medical practice in 18th century Spain. The sources for this study include chronicles by physicians of the period that describe teh consultation sessions among doctors, gathered in what they called "Juntas", as well as written consultations.

The purpose of this paper is to show that the writings of 16th century Spanish surgeons-doctors contain considerable information about everyday surgical practice. These usually neglected data may bring us to a better understanding of the development of this aspect of medical practice. Surgical writings analysed here are by Daza Chacon, Juan Fragoso, Juan Calvo, and Pedro Arias de Benavides.

This paper represents biographical aspects concerning the always-delicate health of Prince Don Carlos (1545-1568), first-born son of the King Felipe II of Spain (1527-1598). The main conditions and circumstances of his pathobiography were drawn from interesting data offered by one of his royal doctors, the former professor of the University of Alcalá, Cristóbal de Vega (1510-1573), throughout his significant medical career. In particular, the report on the quartan fevers suffered by Don Carlos in Doctor Vega's Commentaria in librum Aphorismorum (1568), provides considerable and previously unknown clinical data on the disease.

This paper is a part of a general research project on Spanish pharmacology during the 19th century. Among other issues, this project addressed the role that chemistry played in transforming materia medica into experimental pharmacology. Within this general framework, this paper deals with chemistry textbooks aimed at students of medicine and surgery during the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Our purpose is to shed light on the institutional context in which these books were read, written and published during this period. The study begins in 1788, the year in which several important chemistry textbooks were published, including various French translations and the textbooks of Pedro Gutierrez Bueno. After highlighting Fourcroy's influence on Spanish chemistry, we study the debate on the medical applications of chemistry by analyzing a substantial text written by Juan M. de Arejula. In addition, some of the most important characteristics of medicine and surgery teaching institutions are outlined by paying special attention to the syllabus and textbooks employed in their classrooms. Our study ends in 1845 with Jose Pidal's so-called educational reforms.

Spanish historiography on degenerationism has focused on topics such as criminality, alcoholism, or its influence on naturalistic literature. From this perspective the lack of studies on how this theory affected psychiatrists in Spain is noteworthy. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between clinical psychiatry and degenerationism. We stress three topics: morbid heredity and the nature of degeneration, physical and psychic stigmas, and the boundaries of degenerationism. To this end we examine different sources that include articles in the medical press, pamphlets and psychiatric treatises.

The neglect of science was considered to be one of the causes of the 1898 crisis and therefore the production of science was regarded at the end of the last century as one of the principal measures to achieve national regeneration. The creation of research institutions, especially for outstanding researchers like Cajal, became a national goal. The press contributed greatly to bring about this goal, and in the case of Cajal, was not only the reporter but also the instigator of the campaign to provide him with his own research centre: the Biological Research Laboratory. This paper analyses the start, development and culmination of this campaign.

The aim of this paper is to analyse some aspects of the psychiatric and medical-social discourse on the relationship between childhood and insanity in Spain at the end of nineteenth century and during the first third of the twentieth century. We study the principal theories about degenerate children (delinquent childhood and anormal childhood) based on two of the most paradigmatic works of the Spanish medical literature: Estudio medico-social del nino golfo by Jose Sanchis Banus and Los ninos mentalmente anormales by Gonzalo Rodriguez Lafora.

Majorca's mortality rates in the turn of the century were the lowest of Spain and nearer to those of the northern European countries than to Mediterranean ones and therefore their amazing quality. This paper seeks to contribute to solve that riddle and, as a first step, it reviews the island's demographic conditions and its economic, political and social and cultural context, including the analysis of the development of medical sciences and the sanitary reform of the city of Palma proposed by Eusebio Estada.

In this paper we report the methodology used to study the Protomedicato in Navarre. We considered the particular situation of the Kingdom of Navarre from the 16th to the 19th centuries, when it maintained its statutes as an independent kingdom, and studied the Protomedicato by examining the documentary archives of other administrative and political institutions of the kingdom. Noteworthy among these institutions is the Brotherhood of Physicians, Surgeons and Apothecaries of Pamplona, which influenced the evolution of the Protomedicato.

The paper explores how, through a process that began in the last decades of the nineteenth century and continued during the first part of the present century, especially in the 1920's infancy and infant health were regarded as objects of great value and as a social problem. The child's body was studied and analyzed by doctors, a situation that had important repercussions in other spheres of social life. Children were considered to have a series of characteristics which formed, as a whole, an ideal model within the family and home setting. Care, protection and intervention are the three components underlying the sanitary reform process that supported the health and welfare of children in Spain during this period.