Cajal, catedrático de anatomía en Valencia (1884-1887)

Santiago Ramón y Cajal obtained the chairmanship of Anatomy in the University of Valencia (Spain) by examination in late 1883 - a post he was to occupy until the end of 1887. In Valencia, Cajal and his disciple Juan Bartual developed the Golgi technique, transmitted from the valencian Luis Simarro. During his period in the city, Cajal established a series of ties with the local institutions. In this context, special mention should be made of his close relation with the Instituto Médico Valenciano, which led to the publication (in the Bulletin of the Institute) of his early microscopic research findings. Likewise, on occasion of the I Regional Medical-Pharmaceutical Congress, Cajal presented a famous scientific communication in which he for the first time described the neuron dynamic polarization law. On the other hand, the scientific production of Cajal in Valencia was further materialized in the publication of his Manual de Histología, which included a large number of illustrations (first edition 1884-1888; second edition 1889), and in a total of 16 articles published in Valencian journals -10 of which appeared in the period 1884-7. In this way, Valencia became established as the launching point of the brilliant scientific work of Ramón y Cajal, comprising the origins of his sistematic work in histological research.