Gaspar Julián Casal

Background

Casal was born on December 31, 1680, in Gerona, Spain, the son of Federico Casal y Dajón and Magdalena Julian. He spent his childhood in Utrillas, in the province of Soria, his mother’s birthplace.

Education

There is no record of Casal’s having studied medicine at a university, although he stated that he had practiced medicine in several villages of Guadalajara province between 1707 and 1712; evidence indicates that he learned medicine in Atienza, Guadalajara, by apprenticeship to Juan Manuel Rodríguez de Lima, formerly apothecary to Pope Innocent XI and a distinguished pupil of Doncelli.

In 1713 Casal received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the nearby University of Sigüenza.

Career

After receiving a degree from the university, Casal left the province of Guadalajara and practiced medicine in Madrid. For reasons of health he left Madrid in 1717 and established his medical practice in Oviedo, Asturias, first as the city’s official doctor and later as physician to the local hospitals. During his residence in Oviedo, Casal formed a close friendship with two enlightened Benedictine writers, Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, and Martín Sarmiento, who greatly stimulated his scientific studies.

In 1751 Casal returned to Madrid and was appointed royal physician, and in 1752 he became a member of the Board of the Protomedicate and the Royal Academy of Medicine. He wrote a natural and medical history of Asturias, which was published posthumously in 1762. The first part, “Historia physico-médica de el principado de Asturias,” describes the geography, climate, plants, animals, and diseases most frequently observed in the province; the diseases include intestinal parasites, fevers, endemic goiter, scabies, leprosy, and the “malady of the rose,” or pellagra. Casal also discussed hygiene and preventive measures. The second part, a discussion of Hippocratic doctrines, confirms Casal’s excellent powers of observation. The third part deals with several epidemics that occurred in Asturias between 1719 and 1750, and Casal describes cases observed. The fourth part, “Historia affectionum quarundam regionis hujus familiarum,” describes scabies, identifying the Sarcoptes and recommending treatment with sulfur ointment. Leprosy, sometimes confused in the text with severe dermatological afflictions, and the “mal de la rosa,” described in every clinical manifestation, are illustrated by an engraved plate.

The fame that was developed in his years in Oviedo echoed in Madrid, where the Court appointed him in 1751 a Supernumerary Doctor of the Royal Chamber of Fernando VI. A year later, in 1752, he became a member of the Royal Medical Academy-Matritense. On August 10, 1759, Casal died in Madrid.

Achievements

• Casal was the first to describe the so-called "evil of the rose," a disease now known as pellagra. The impact of his contributions to modern medicine was recognized by the cities of Gerona and Oviedo, in which there are streets named "Carrer Gaspar i Casal" in the former and "Calle Doctor Casal" in the latter.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Historia natural y medica de El Principado de Asturias 1762

Membership

• Royal Academy of Medicine , Spain

  1752

Connections

Casal’s first wife, Maria Ruiz, bore him two sons, Andrés Simón and Pablo; after her death he married María Alvarez Rodriguez Arango and had two more children, Ventura Benito and Magdalena.

Father:

Federico Casal y Dajón

Mother:

Magdalena Julian

Spouse:

María Alvarez Rodriguez Arango

ex-spouse:

Maria Ruiz

Son:

Andrés Simón Casal

Son:

Pablo Casal

Son:

Ventura Benito Casal

Daughter:

Magdalena Casal

References

• Dictionary of Medical Eponyms Second Edition
  2001
• Dictionary of Scientific Biography Volume 3
  1971