Alejandro San Martín Satrústegui: a pioneer of Spanish neurology

F. de Castro
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(1):19-37

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

F. de Castro
Cajal Institute-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.

ABSTRACT

“Alejandro San Martín was the most capable master of our generation”: this assertion of Cajal’s is a good representation of the esteem with which Alejandro San Martín Satrústegui (1847-1908) was held both by Cajal himself and by those generations of physicians and scholars, and which led him, briefly, to sit in the government cabinet of Segismundo Moret. An important medical journalist, university professor, and a noteworthy surgeon in several areas, especially the nascent field of vascular surgery, San Martín has been said to have “put Spain back on the international surgical map,” with his knowledge, proficiency in several languages, and relevant social skills and projection all playing a role. However, little attention has been paid to his achievements in the also nascent fields of neurology and neurosurgery. This study focuses on these specific aspects, and notes certain parallels with the life of Cajal.

KEYWORDS

Arteriovenous anastomosis, Cajal, history of neuroscience, lathyrism, neuroscience, neurosurgery, Simarro, trigeminal nerve, brain tumours.

Neurosciences and History 2025;13(1): 19-37