Nicolás José Gutiérrez Hernández

Among the names of Cuban physicians who contributed significantly to the development of national medicine during the nineteenth century, that of Nicolás José Gutiérrez Hernández appears in the first rank, a man deserving of all the respect and consideration of his peers and compatriots of all times for his abundant virtues and numerous accomplishments, among which are counted being the first in Cuba to practice lithotripsy; remove uterine polyps; apply iodine tincture in hydroceles of the vaginal tunic; employ Ricord's method for the cure of syphilis; perform tenotomy of the equine foot; perform ligation of the radial and internal and external iliac arteries in cases of aneurysms; apply percussion and auscultation to diagnose diseases of the respiratory and circulatory organs; embalm by the Gannal method; administer chloroform for surgical anesthesia; operate on liver abscesses; perform rhinoplasties; radically cure inguinal hernia and employ immobilizing bandaging for fractures.

To these examples, among many others that could be enumerated in relation to his contributions within clinical practice, are added his great contributions to national science and culture, among which stand out the creation of the first Cuban medical journal, the founding of the Real Academia de Ciencias Médicas, Físicas y Naturales de La Habana and his magnificent record in the teaching sphere, in which he also left transcendent marks.

This renowned figure was born in La Habana. He was the first son of a total of 11 from the couple formed by José de Jesús Gutiérrez and Josefa Feliciana Hernández, both natives of the same city.

He received his primary education first in a private school, located in the Merced neighborhood and later in a school opened by Antonio Coello, a teacher of great reputation, in which he distinguished himself among his classmates and where he always achieved first prizes in exams. In 1817 he began his studies of Philosophy in the convent of San Juan de Letrán, where in February 1820 he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

His vocation for Medicine manifested itself from his childhood and became evident on January 8, 1819, the date on which the first practical course of Anatomy, Physiology and Chemistry opened at the Military Hospital of San Ambrosio, taught by Italian professor José Antonio Tasso, in which he enrolled while studying for his bachelor's degree. The public examination he passed upon completing this course, so novel for its time, was so brilliant that it earned him the promise of funding his medical studies in Paris or Spain at the expense of the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País. The promise was not fulfilled and, in compensation, they gave him some elementary medical works.

In June 1818 he had also begun practical training to obtain the title of Latin Surgeon with doctor Manuel Antonio Díaz, physician and surgeon of the Battalion of Light Troops of Tarragona, who was also practicing physician of the Hospital de San Francisco de Paula. Three years later, in June 1821, he was approved to practice as such by unanimous vote in the Real Tribunal del Protomedicato de La Habana.

In March 1820 he began the medical degree at the Pontifical University. Although, as he himself stated in his autobiographical notes, he began his medical education under the influence of old doctrines, his good fortune was such that during his time as a student the illustrious doctors Agustín Encinoso de Abreu and Ángel J. Cowley came to fill the main chairs, who were able to transmit to their disciples the knowledge derived from the progress of medical sciences in Europe, with the same enthusiasm with which they assimilated them. On March 18, 1823 he was awarded the title of Bachelor of Medicine, after passing the subjects of Prima, Vísperas, Anatomy and Therapeutics and sustaining the act of public conclusions. With the aspiration of achieving the higher degrees of Licentiate and Doctor of Medicine, he began a period of practice with doctor Andrés Terriles, physician and surgeon of the Royal Navy and corresponding member of the Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Cádiz.

In 1825 he received from the Protomedicato the diploma that accredited him as a physician and authorization to practice that profession. During his time as a Medical student he also achieved the title of full member of the Sociedad Económica in 1822 and had begun a course of Botany taught by Ramón de la Sagra in 1824, the year in which the Sociedad Médico Quirúrgica de Cádiz appointed him as corresponding member. On the other hand, since April 1822 he worked as a physician-surgeon in the capacity of meritorious at the Hospital de San Ambrosio. In the same institution he was appointed as substitute anatomical dissector in 1825 without receiving any compensation. With the documentation that accounted for this work, he presented himself for examination at the University and obtained the degrees of Licentiate and Doctor of Medicine on January 13 and February 4, 1827, respectively.

Dr. Gutiérrez, who felt a vocation for teaching work from a very young age, saw his dreams officially crowned in that regard when on June 3, 1829 he was appointed interim professor of General Anatomy at the University and on April 30, 1830 he obtained that chair permanently through competitive examination. During 1831 he substituted for doctor Francisco Alonso Fernández due to illness in the teaching of Descriptive Anatomy at the Real Hospital de San Ambrosio. On April 30, 1835 he achieved, also through competitive examination at the University, the directorship of the chair of Pathology.

A year after his appointment as professor of Pathology, he interrupted this teaching position to travel to Paris, where he remained for a period of two years and acquired the vast knowledge that led him later to be the protagonist of Cuban medical firsts, enumerated in the first two paragraphs of this mini-biography, and which served him to provide his students with deep and current information on the subjects he taught.

Armed with this knowledge, in 1839 he taught three courses of great importance for the development of medicine on the island at Hospital San Ambrosio: one of Obstetrics, which he offered twice a week in evening hours; another of Surgical Clinic and another about major operations of Surgery with demonstrations on cadavers, the latter two taught for the first time in Cuba. From the surgery course his lessons were published in a volume of 270 pages with the title Breve manual de Medicina operatoria, used as a textbook for many years in the hospital and at the University.

Proof of his interest in improving the conditions of medical education was his large number of donations to the anatomical museum of the Hospital de San Ambrosio of anatomical wax preparations made by him, as well as the organization through his efforts of a medical library in the institution, which treasured the latest published works brought from Paris.

After the secularization of the Pontifical University in 1842, which transformed it into the Real y Literaria University, he was appointed professor of Descriptive Anatomy and General Pathology, by Royal Order of January 1843.

In 1845 came the difficult moment of deciding whether he should dedicate himself preferentially to clinical work, or instead devote himself entirely to teaching work. He enjoyed great prestige in both occupations, but time really did not allow him to give proper attention to each one. For this reason, on May 11, 1845 he chose to resign from systematic university teaching. Despite this, in 1846 he taught at the Liceo Artístico y Literario de La Habana a course in Anatomy arranged in 21 lectures in a volume of 94 pages titled Curso de Anatomía al alcance de todos. On the other hand, he made frequent donations of important works to the library of the prestigious center of studies and always remained attentive to its needs.

Such was his reputation and the mark he had left as a physician educator that in 1879, when he was already 79 years old, he was appointed Rector of the University. On that occasion, all the university students held a torchlit parade in his honor along Calle Oficios, where his residence was located, in which youthful joy, the fanfare of music and dancing extended into the late hours of the night as public recognition of the goodness of his character and his elevated human condition.

Other important positions he assumed were those of Deputy Mayor and City Councilman, Member of the Health Board, Merit Member of the Academia Quirúrgica Matritense and of the Real Sociedad Económica de la Habana y Santiago de Cuba, corresponding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of New Orleans and President of the Superior Board of Public Instruction. He also received among other honors those of the Grand Cross of Carlos III and Isabel la Católica, as well as that of Physician of the Chamber of His Majesty the King of Spain.

Dr. Nicolás José Gutiérrez Hernández was a living example of the spirit of progress and his youthful ideas and aspirations were preserved throughout his life. An indefatigable worker, he remained in permanent contact with advances in medical science and was able to evolve positively in his philosophical conceptions. His death, which occurred on December 31, 1890, produced prolonged mourning, but also left a beautiful and valuable legacy to national science and culture that will be imperishable.

Source: Universidad Virtual de Salud de Cuba