Fact Finder - People

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was a neuroscientist whose genius for microscopy and illustration revealed the true structure of the nervous system. At a time when many believed the brain was a single continuous network (reticular theory), Cajal used a staining technique developed by Camillo Golgi to show that the nervous system is composed of individual, discrete cells. This 'Neuron Doctrine' is the foundation of modern neuroscience. Cajal's detailed and beautiful drawings of neurons, axons, and dendrites are still used in medical textbooks today. He shared the Nobel Prize in 1906 with Golgi, though they remained rivals regarding their theories of brain structure until the end.