Abstract

Pío del Rio-Hortega, one of the pioneering neuroscientists and discoverer of microglia, has been recognized as one of the most important Spanish neurohistogists of the past century. His landmark research on oligodendroglia, originally published in Spanish in 1928, has been translated into English for the first time by Dr. José R. Iglesias-Rozas and Prof. Manuel Garrosa. The book establishes definitively the concept of oligodendroglia and describes in great detail its structure, varieties, function, origin and pathology, providing a thorough review. The entire 1928 writing is presented, including the 79 excellent drawings and photographs from the original publication.

To complement the original book and provide historical context, the translators have also included an introduction to the research and a biography of Pío del Rio-Hortega. This book constitutes a milestone in the history of neuroscience, biology and medicine, and it will be valuable reading for researchers and practitioners in these fields.

• First English translation of seminal 1928 research
• Contains the broad descriptions and interpretations of the normal and pathological oligodendroglia
• Full original text and new introductory sections

"Spanish neurologist Pío del Río-Hortega (1882-1945) is credited with discovering microglia, but not oligodendrocytes, another of the four cell types that constitute nerve tissue. At least part of the reason, say Iglesias-Rozas…and Garrosa… may be that his findings were only published in Spanish. They pull together the evidence for his contribution. Among their topics are the bibliographic background, morphological characteristics of the oligodendroglia, textural characteristics of protoplasm in the oligodendrocytes,…"--Reference & Research Book News, December 2013