Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83(08): s00451809402
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809402
History of Neurology

Lively contributions: 156 years after the death of Jan Evangelista Purkyně

Authors

  • Catarina Dantas Corrêa

    1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Serviço de Neurologia, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
  • Camila Emi Fujiwara Murakami

    1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Serviço de Neurologia, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
  • Isabelle Pastor Bandeira

    1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Serviço de Neurologia, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
  • Carlos Roberto M. Rieder

    2   Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Departamento de Neurologia, Porto Alegre RS, Brazil.
  • Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive

    1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Serviço de Neurologia, Curitiba PR, Brazil.

Abstract

Jan Evangelista Purkyně, born on December 17, 1787, in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), was a prominent scientist renowned for his discoveries in eye, brain, and heart physiology. To honor him 156 years after his death, the present article explores Purkyně's history, from the struggles of his youth to the main legacies he left in medicine, especially neurology.

Authors' Contributions

Conceptualization: CDC, CEFM, IPB, CRMR, HAGT; Data curation: CDC, CEFM, IPB, CRMR, HAGT; Supervision: HAGT; Writing - original draft: CDC, CEFM, IPB, CRMR: Writing – review & editing: HAGT.


Data Availability Statement

The contents underlying the research text are included in the manuscript.


Editor-in-Chief: Ayrton Roberto Massaro 0000-0002-0487-5299.


Associate Editor: Ethel Mizrahy Cuperschmid 0000-0003-4512-0607.




Publication History

Received: 25 September 2024

Accepted: 06 April 2025

Article published online:
20 June 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil

Bibliographical Record
Catarina Dantas Corrêa, Camila Emi Fujiwara Murakami, Isabelle Pastor Bandeira, Carlos Roberto M. Rieder, Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive. Lively contributions: 156 years after the death of Jan Evangelista Purkyně. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83: s00451809402.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809402
 
  • References

  • 1 Málek P. Bicentennial anniversary of the birth of J.E. Purkinje (1787-1987). Czech Med 1987; 10 (01) 1-8
  • 2 Waliszewska-Prosół M, Ejma M, Podemski R. [Jan Ewangelista Purkynie (1787-1869) - physiologist, phenomenologist, citizen of Wroclaw]. Neurol Neurochir Pol 2013; 47 (01) 90-93
  • 3 Tan SY, Lin KH. Johannes Evangelista Purkinje (1787-1869): 19th century's foremost phenomenologist. Singapore Med J 2005; 46 (05) 208-209
  • 4 Cavero I, Guillon JM, Holzgrefe HH. Reminiscing about Jan Evangelista Purkinje: a pioneer of modern experimental physiology. Adv Physiol Educ 2017; 41 (04) 528-538
  • 5 Mazurak M, Kusa J. Jan Evangelista Purkinje: A Passion for Discovery. Tex Heart Inst J 2018; 45 (01) 23-26
  • 6 Schweitzer P. Jan Evangelista Purkinje (Purkinĕ). Clin Cardiol 1991; 14 (01) 85-86 PubMed
  • 7 Voogd J. The Purkinje cell. In: Koehler PJ, Bruin GW, Pearce JMS. Neurological Eponyms. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2000
  • 8 Silverman ME, Grove D, Upshaw Jr CB. Why does the heart beat? The discovery of the electrical system of the heart. Circulation 2006; 113 (23) 2775-2781
  • 9 Gomes MM. Jan Evangelista Purkinje, a brilliant, multifaceted Czech biologist: nerve tissue. Rev Bras Neurol 2019; 55 (04) 13-17
  • 10 Pokorný J, Trojan S. Purkynova koncepce nervové bunky. [Purkinje's concept of a neuron] Cas Lek Cesk 2005; 144 (10) 659-661 , discussion 662
  • 11 Zárský V. Jan Evangelista Purkyně/Purkinje (1787-1869) and the establishment of cellular physiology–Wrocław/Breslau as a central European cradle for a new science. Protoplasma 2012; 249 (04) 1173-1179
  • 12 Druga R. Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. In: Trávníčková E. . editor. Jan Evangelista Purkyně, life and work. Prague: Avicenum; 1986. . p. 255–61 (in Czech) .
  • 13 Pannese E. The black reaction. Brain Res Bull 1996; 41 (06) 343-349
  • 14 Cajal SR. Histologie du systéme nerveux de l'homme et des vertébrés. Paris: A Maloine; 1911. . V. 2.