Joaquín Albarrán, full name Joaquin Maria Albarrán y Dominguez (May 9, 1860 – January 17, 1912) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

born in

Sagua La Grande Sagua la Grande (nicknamed ''La Villa del Undoso'', sometimes shortened in Sagua) is a municipality located on the north coast of the province of Villa Clara in central Cuba, on the Sagua la Grande River. The city is close to Mogotes de Juma ...

. He received the Order of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Biography

He studied medicine in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, earning his medical licence in 1877. Afterwards, he relocated to Paris, where he studied

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures v ...

with

Louis-Antoine Ranvier Louis-Antoine Ranvier (2 October 1835 – 22 March 1922) was a French physician, pathologist, anatomist and histologist, who discovered the nodes of Ranvier, regularly spaced discontinuities of the myelin sheath, occurring at varying intervals ...

(1835–1922). In Paris, he interned under several renowned physicians, including urologist

Jean Casimir Félix Guyon Jean Casimir Félix Guyon (21 July 1831 – 2 August 1920) was a French surgeon and urologist born in Saint-Denis, Ile-Bourbon (Réunion). He studied medicine in Paris, receiving his doctorate in 1858. He was appointed ''médecin des hôpitaux' ...

(1831–1920), who served as an important influence to Albarrán's career. In 1892 he became ''professeur agrégé'', followed by ''chirurgien des hôpitaux'' two years later. In 1906 he succeeded Guyon as director of the clinic of urology at Hôpital Necker. Albarrán's early career was largely spent in the fields of

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

and

histopathology Histopathology (compound of three Greek words: ''histos'' "tissue", πάθος ''pathos'' "suffering", and -λογία '' -logia'' "study of") refers to the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of disease. Sp ...

, later switching to urology, a discipline in which he made several important contributions. He performed the first perineal

prostatectomy Prostatectomy (from the Greek , "prostate" and , "excision") as a medical term refers to the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland. This operation is done for benign conditions that cause urinary retention, as well as for pros ...

in France, and is credited with introducing the so-called "Albarrán lever", a device used for adjusting the movements of a

cystoscope Cystoscopy is endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra. It is carried out with a cystoscope. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The cystoscope has lenses like a telescope or microscop ...

during the catheterization of the

ureter The ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In a human adult, the ureters are usually long and around in diameter. The ureter is lined by urothelial cells, a type of transitional epit ...

. In 1912 he was nominated for a

Nobel Prize in Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

Associated eponyms

* Albarran-Ormond syndrome: Inflammatory retroperitoneal fibrosis, usually associated with urinary obstruction. Named with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

urologist John Kelso Ormond (1886–1978); also known as "Gerota’s syndrome", after

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n anatomist and urologist Dimitrie Gerota (1867-1939). * Albarran's glands: Tiny

submucosal glands Submucosal glands can refer to various racemose exocrine glands of the mucous type. These glands secrete mucus to facilitate the movement of particles along the body's various tubes, such as the throat and intestines. The mucosa is the lining of th ...

or branching tubules in the subcervical area of the

prostate gland The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and physi ...

. * Albarran's sign: A sign of cancer in the pelvis renalis.

Written works

* ''Anatomie et physiologie pathologique de la rétention de l’urine''. With Jean Casimir Felix Guyon (1831–1920), 1890. * ''Sur un série de quarante opérations pratiqués sur la rein''. Revue de chirurgie, 1896, 16: 882–884. First planned

nephrostomy A nephrostomy is an artificial opening created between the kidney and the skin which allows for the urinary diversion directly from the upper part of the urinary system (renal pelvis). An urostomy is a related procedure performed more distally a ...

. * ''Médecine opératoire des voies urinaires''. Paris, Masson & Cie., 1909. His best written effort. Albarran was the first surgeon in France to perform a perineal

.Joaquin Maria Albarran y Dominguez - bibliography
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

References

''Joaquín Albarrán''
@

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albarran, Joaquin Cuban urologists 1860 births 1912 deaths People from Sagua la Grande