A physician, poet, polyglot, and musician, Aloysio de Castro was born on June 14, 1881, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. His father was Academy Member Franciso de Castro, and his mother was named Maria Joana Monteiro Pereira de Castro.
Throughout Castro’s childhood, his home was regularly visited by a number of his father’s peers, such as Francisco de Paula Fajardo, Antonio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré, João Paulo de Carvalho, Augusto Brant Paes Leme, Eduardo Chapot-Prévost and Raimundo Nina Rodrigues, which certainly played a pivotal role in his decision to pursue a career in medicine.
He consequently decided to study medicine at the now defunct Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine (now, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ), where he graduated in 1903 after defending his “The disorders of gait and their clinical significance” thesis. He would start working as an Intern and Assistant to Dr. Miguel Couto in the Department of Clinical Propaedeutics (General Pathology), which led to a long-lasting master-pupil type of relationship.
Dr. Castro was elected a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM) on July 21, 1904, after submitting his dissertation titled “On the Stokes-Adams Syndrome.” On November 23, 1933, he became an Emeritus Member, later serving as President of the institution during two terms: 1937 to 1942, and 1943 to 1945. He is the Patron of Chair Number 58.
In 1906, during an Assembly held at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine, he was granted a medal as the top student of his class, thereby enabling him to travel to Europe and specialize in the field of neurological semiology. He completed this program at France’s Hospital Bicêtre, under the guidance of neuropathologist Pierre Marie who, at the time, was deemed the world’s main expert in neurology. Dr. Castro attended his ward and laboratory and became Mr. Marie’s diligent assistant. In addition, he regularly visited the Hospice de la Salpêtrière, L´Hospice de La Charité as well as the Necker, Beaujon, Saint-Louis, Hôtel-Dieu, and Val-de-Grâce Hospitals.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1907, he resumed his position as an Assistant of Propaedeutics (General Pathology) at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine, in addition to the 7th Ward of Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital, a position he had been referred to since pursuing his university studies.
Dr. Castro served as a Full Professor of Medical Pathology from 1909 to 1914, and later, as a Full Professor of Clinical Medicine from 1915 to 1924, in addition to being the Dean of the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine (later renamed the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). During his tenure there, he inaugurated the new head office at Rio de Janeiro’s Avenida Pasteur and established, in 1919, the Institute of Radiology. Furthermore, the renowned physician and writer also led efforts to erect the Rio de Janeiro Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital’s Francisco de Castro Pavilion, of which he would serve as Head of its 4th Ward.
Other roles taken on by Dr. Castro include Deputy Commissioner of Health and Public Assistance for Rio de Janeiro and Head of the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro’s Department of Clinical Medicine, where he used recorded footage of prior cases to showcase diseases more effectively in his classes and introduced teaching of clinical medicine in outpatient departments.
Moreover, Dr. Castro was a member of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations, Director General of the Departamento Nacional de Ensino (National Department of Education) and of the Italo-Brazilian Institute of High Culture. He was further appointed as an Honorary Professor at the Medical Schools of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, as well as a Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Medicine in Paris and the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.
The physician additionally joined the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, and the Medical and Surgical Society of São Paulo. He was honored with the title of Professor Honoris Causa at the city of Niterói’s Faculty of Medicine and took on an Emeritus Professor seat at the now defunct University of Brazil (nowadays, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). Finally, Dr. Castro was granted membership to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican and to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, of which he served as President in 1930 and 1951.
Dr. Castro is deemed to have introduced the field of neurological semiology in Brazil and was consequently awarded the National Order of Medical Merit in the rank of Grand Cross by the Brazilian government for his outstanding efforts.
Since writing was also one of his strong suits, in addition to medicine, he published a wide array of articles, essays, speeches and books on numerous subjects, in addition to composing music. When it comes to medicine, some of his main works include a three-volume book titled “Notas e observações Clínicas” (“Clinical Remarks and Observations”); “Distrofia gênito-glandular” (“Gland Dystrophy”), together with Oscar de Souza; “Discursos, Conferências e Escritos Vários” (“Speeches, Conferences and Assorted Pieces”), and “Tratado de Semiótica Nervosa” (“Study on Neurological Semiology”).
Dr. Castro further collaborated with both Brazilian and international journals and magazines, such as the Brasil-Médico weekly journal, the Medical and Surgical Annals of the State of São Paulo, the Annals of the General Polyclinic Hospital of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Jornal dos Cínicos newspaper, the Folha Médica publication, Patologia Geral (The General Pathology), Revue Neurologique, Nouvelle Iconographie de la Salpetriére, Encephale, Presse Médicale and the Neurologische Zentralblatt.
Dr. Aloysio de Castro passed away on October 7, 1959, in his native city of Rio de Janeiro.
Posthumously, in 1964, the President Getúlio Vargas-established Institute of Cardiology, which was inaugurated in 1941, changed its name to the Aloysio de Castro State Institute of Cardiology, in honor of the brilliant physician. The building now occupies the former Hospital dos Radialistas (Radiology Hospital) in the neighborhood of Humaitá in Rio de Janeiro.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio
Número acadêmico: 239
Cadeira: 09
Cadeira homenageado: 58
Membro: Emeritus
Secção: Medicine
Eleição: 13/06/1904
Posse: 21/07/1904
Sob a presidência: Joaquim Pinto Portella
Emerência: 23/11/1933
Falecimento: 07/10/1959
Número acadêmico: 239
Cadeira: 09
Cadeira homenageado: 58
Membro: Emeritus
Secção: Medicine
Eleição: 13/06/1904
Posse: 21/07/1904
Sob a presidência: Joaquim Pinto Portella
Emerência: 23/11/1933
Falecimento: 07/10/1959
A physician, poet, polyglot, and musician, Aloysio de Castro was born on June 14, 1881, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. His father was Academy Member Franciso de Castro, and his mother was named Maria Joana Monteiro Pereira de Castro.
Throughout Castro’s childhood, his home was regularly visited by a number of his father’s peers, such as Francisco de Paula Fajardo, Antonio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré, João Paulo de Carvalho, Augusto Brant Paes Leme, Eduardo Chapot-Prévost and Raimundo Nina Rodrigues, which certainly played a pivotal role in his decision to pursue a career in medicine.
He consequently decided to study medicine at the now defunct Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine (now, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ), where he graduated in 1903 after defending his “The disorders of gait and their clinical significance” thesis. He would start working as an Intern and Assistant to Dr. Miguel Couto in the Department of Clinical Propaedeutics (General Pathology), which led to a long-lasting master-pupil type of relationship.
Dr. Castro was elected a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM) on July 21, 1904, after submitting his dissertation titled “On the Stokes-Adams Syndrome.” On November 23, 1933, he became an Emeritus Member, later serving as President of the institution during two terms: 1937 to 1942, and 1943 to 1945. He is the Patron of Chair Number 58.
In 1906, during an Assembly held at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine, he was granted a medal as the top student of his class, thereby enabling him to travel to Europe and specialize in the field of neurological semiology. He completed this program at France’s Hospital Bicêtre, under the guidance of neuropathologist Pierre Marie who, at the time, was deemed the world’s main expert in neurology. Dr. Castro attended his ward and laboratory and became Mr. Marie’s diligent assistant. In addition, he regularly visited the Hospice de la Salpêtrière, L´Hospice de La Charité as well as the Necker, Beaujon, Saint-Louis, Hôtel-Dieu, and Val-de-Grâce Hospitals.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1907, he resumed his position as an Assistant of Propaedeutics (General Pathology) at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine, in addition to the 7th Ward of Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital, a position he had been referred to since pursuing his university studies.
Dr. Castro served as a Full Professor of Medical Pathology from 1909 to 1914, and later, as a Full Professor of Clinical Medicine from 1915 to 1924, in addition to being the Dean of the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine (later renamed the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). During his tenure there, he inaugurated the new head office at Rio de Janeiro’s Avenida Pasteur and established, in 1919, the Institute of Radiology. Furthermore, the renowned physician and writer also led efforts to erect the Rio de Janeiro Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital’s Francisco de Castro Pavilion, of which he would serve as Head of its 4th Ward.
Other roles taken on by Dr. Castro include Deputy Commissioner of Health and Public Assistance for Rio de Janeiro and Head of the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro’s Department of Clinical Medicine, where he used recorded footage of prior cases to showcase diseases more effectively in his classes and introduced teaching of clinical medicine in outpatient departments.
Moreover, Dr. Castro was a member of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations, Director General of the Departamento Nacional de Ensino (National Department of Education) and of the Italo-Brazilian Institute of High Culture. He was further appointed as an Honorary Professor at the Medical Schools of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, as well as a Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Medicine in Paris and the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.
The physician additionally joined the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, and the Medical and Surgical Society of São Paulo. He was honored with the title of Professor Honoris Causa at the city of Niterói’s Faculty of Medicine and took on an Emeritus Professor seat at the now defunct University of Brazil (nowadays, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). Finally, Dr. Castro was granted membership to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican and to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, of which he served as President in 1930 and 1951.
Dr. Castro is deemed to have introduced the field of neurological semiology in Brazil and was consequently awarded the National Order of Medical Merit in the rank of Grand Cross by the Brazilian government for his outstanding efforts.
Since writing was also one of his strong suits, in addition to medicine, he published a wide array of articles, essays, speeches and books on numerous subjects, in addition to composing music. When it comes to medicine, some of his main works include a three-volume book titled “Notas e observações Clínicas” (“Clinical Remarks and Observations”); “Distrofia gênito-glandular” (“Gland Dystrophy”), together with Oscar de Souza; “Discursos, Conferências e Escritos Vários” (“Speeches, Conferences and Assorted Pieces”), and “Tratado de Semiótica Nervosa” (“Study on Neurological Semiology”).
Dr. Castro further collaborated with both Brazilian and international journals and magazines, such as the Brasil-Médico weekly journal, the Medical and Surgical Annals of the State of São Paulo, the Annals of the General Polyclinic Hospital of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Jornal dos Cínicos newspaper, the Folha Médica publication, Patologia Geral (The General Pathology), Revue Neurologique, Nouvelle Iconographie de la Salpetriére, Encephale, Presse Médicale and the Neurologische Zentralblatt.
Dr. Aloysio de Castro passed away on October 7, 1959, in his native city of Rio de Janeiro.
Posthumously, in 1964, the President Getúlio Vargas-established Institute of Cardiology, which was inaugurated in 1941, changed its name to the Aloysio de Castro State Institute of Cardiology, in honor of the brilliant physician. The building now occupies the former Hospital dos Radialistas (Radiology Hospital) in the neighborhood of Humaitá in Rio de Janeiro.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio