[Jirí Procháska (1749-1820) II.: the structure of the nervous tissue].

Abstract

The treatise "De structura nervorum" by Jirí Procháska was published in 1779 after his appointment as a professor in Prague. This work is remarkable not only for its anatomical and histological findings, but also for its historical introduction, which contains a very detailed bibliographical review of previous knowledge about the structure of the nervous tissue. The treatise "De structura nervorum" has never been translated from the Latin language, but as a historical document about the level of neuroscience research conducted by a famous Czech researcher, it deserves further analysis. The present article includes a historical overview of knowledge about the structure of nervous tissue up to the late 18th century from the perspective of today, a translation of the historical introduction about the medieval knowledge of the structure of the nervous tissue and documenting the way in which Jirí Procháska processed his bibliography, a translation and interpretation of his neurohistological observations and an analysis of the results in the light of current knowledge.