J. C. Criado Gutiérrez
Neurosciences and History 2026;14(1):14-25
Article type: ORIGINAL
AUTHOR
J. C. Criado Gutiérrez
Writer and researcher, Scientific Committee of Fundación LUMIUM, Zaragoza, Spain.
ABSTRACT
To date, the only document on Santiago Ramón y Cajal’ s time working on hospital wards was a letter conserved at the Cajal Institute (Spanish National Research Council), dated 17 May 1876, informing him of his appointment as practicante de primera clase (physician’s assistant) at Hospital de Nuestra Señora de Gracia, in Zaragoza. Many of Cajal’ s biographers referred to this document, but none had been able to explain the circumstances of the appointment.
Thanks to unpublished documentation that we recently discovered in the archives of the Provincial Government of Zaragoza, we can now reveal the events during this historical period of Cajal’s life and describe the complete process of the competitive examination through which Cajal was selected for the role of practicante de primera clase.
This is a hitherto unknown period of Cajal’s life, which we may now reveal at the time of the 150th anniversary of the competitive examination.
Among the documents identified, three handwritten texts by Santiago Ramón y Cajal are of particular importance.
KEYWORDS
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, competitive examination, practicante, nurse, nursing, 1876.
Neurosciences and History 2026;14(1):14-25