A VENEZUELAN ANATOMIST CITED IN THE HUMAN ANATOMY TREATISE TESTUT-LATARJET.

Le traité d'anatomie Testut-Latarjet (The human anatomy Testut-Latarjet treatise) published in 1887, is considered one of the most complete on human anatomy, with detailed descriptions of the human body and anthropological concepts, accompanied by philosophical and anthropological concepts. This anatomy treatise is still a very useful teaching tool in many Latin American and European Medical Faculties. In 1902, this anatomical treatise won the Saintour Prize, awarded by the French Academy of Medicine and since 1910 it has been translated into Spanish, Italian, German and other languages. The Testut-Latarjet treatise on human anatomy consists of four volumes with a total of 4,935 pages in its 1960 Spanish edition, as well as 4,144 highly detailed illustrations in color. The 1960 Spanish edition of Testut-Latarjet treatise in its volume IV included a citing of the doctoral thesis: El elemento nervioso en el apendice libre. Sus aplicaciones quirurgicas (External innervation of the cecal appendix: its surgical applications ) written in 1943 by Rubén Rodríguez Escovar, M. D., a Venezuelan anatomist and surgeon, who held the Department of Human Anatomy at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, distinguishing himself as teacher and researcher over a period of 40 years. Certainly, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is not in the greatest group of prominent anatomists mentioned in the Treatise. Nevertheless, on merit alone for his research about mesoappendicular region’s innervations, he was cited into Testut-Latarjet ‘s treatise. As far as the present author knows, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is the sole Non-European anatomist to be mentioned in the outstanding Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise.


Introduction
Human anatomy has historically been a cornerstone in medical education world-wide. By learning gross anatomy, medical students get a first approach about the structure of the human body which is the basis for understanding pathologic and clinical problems. An adequate grasp of human anatomy has always entailed indepth study and knowledge of the human body as a basis of understanding and applying it in the practice of medicine. Throughout history, many eminent anatomists have written notable books and treatises on anatomy, among who for example are Andreas Vesalius, Juan Valverde, Jean M. Sappey, Leo Testut, Henry Rouviere, Andre Latarjet, Henry Gray, and many other anatomists. Competent physicians, particularly surgeons, need a deep understanding of human anatomy for safe clinical and surgical procedures. Among many anatomical treatise, the Testut-Latarjet Treatise is qualified as one of the most comprehensive human anatomy treatises ever used to teach and learn in many medical school around Latin America and Europe to develop training of competent physicians and surgeons.  [3]. The French Academy of Medicine named Leo Testut a correspondent member in 1895.
He received the "honorary professor" title in 1919 after retiring from University of Lyon. Testut also acted as president of the World Association of Anatomists. Leo Testut incorporated his outstanding student André Latarjet as co-author, who lengthened the treatise adding new anatomical knowledges, from 1925 on, came to be called the Human anatomy Testut-Latrajet [4]. This text is considered to be one of the most complete human anatomy treatises ( fig. 1), with its meticulous and thorough descriptions of the human body, accompanied by philosophical and anthropological concepts.
In 1893, this outstanding treatise was taken on board as basic human anatomy teaching text by Dr. Pablo Acosta Ortiz at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and endorsed for teaching use by subsequent human anatomy professors in the faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Central de Venezuela throughout the twentieth century [5]. In 1902, this anatomical treatise won the Saintour Prize, awarded by the French Academy of Medicine and since 1910 it has been translated into Spanish, Italian, German and other languages.
In the mid-nineties of the twentieth century, the Testut-Latarjet's Human Anatomy was replaced as anatomy treatise at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. In its place came a whole set of human anatomy books by diverse authors, among whom were Moore, Dalley, Rouviere, Snell, Latarjet-Ruiz along with the mutually complementary atlases on human anatomy by Sobotta, Netter, Gosling, Mc Minn and others, each with a different emphasis such as teaching based on problems, clinical anatomy, surface anatomy, topographic anatomy and other pedagogical approaches, plus the use of new information technologies to access to many web sites about human anatomy and also to get into Instagram, YouTube and other social networks or social media.
Currently Le traité d'anatomie Testut-Latarjet (the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise) is still seen as a basic consulting and learning text, thereby remaining a valid option today, more than a century after it was first published and is still used as such in many Faculties of Medicine in Latin America and Europe Rubén Rodriguez Escovar cited in Le traité d'anatomie Testut-Latarjet. Rubén Rodriguez Escovar, M.D. (1918-1994) was an outstanding anatomist who held the Department of Human Anatomy at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, distinguishing himself as teacher and researcher over a period of 40 years during which time he also become known as a outstanding general surgeon [6].
He was born in Sanare, Lara State, in the northwest of Venezuela on January 20th, 1918. Rubén Rodriguez Escovar (also mistaken written still in references as Escobar) was a son of Manuel Rodriguez Garcia and Emperatriz Escobar. He completed his primary and secondary education in Lara State and went on to Caracas for his medical study at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Central de Venezuela. After he got his medical degree, Rodriguez Escovar started to do appendectomies in the Vargas Hospital in 1943 with dissection of the nervous element to avoid the postoperative appendicular syndrome arising from the amputation neuroma or that it be included in the ligatures [7]. He continued developing this clinical research and used it in his doctoral thesis, El elemento nervioso en el apendice libre. Sus aplicaciones quirurgicas (The nervous element in the free appendix, its surgical applications) with which he gained his degree of Doctor of Medical Science [8].
Rodriguez Escovar was founding member of the Panamerican Anatomy Association, member of the French Association of Anatomists and director of the Experimental Surgery Institute of the Universidad Central de Venezuela from 1971 to 1983. He was also founding member of the Venezuelan Atheneum of Morphology, further to which, he gained prominence as a general surgeon, being Assistant Professor of Surgery II at the Vargas Hospital. During his teaching career, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar (Fig. 2) published several papers in Venezuelan and foreign medical journals on surgical and anatomical matters. He was full member of the Venezuelan Surgery Society and, in 1963, elected as correspondent member No. 30 of the Venezuelan Academy of Medicine; he was also an official consultant to the U.S. Peace Corps and corresponding member of the French Society of Surgery [9].
The anatomist José Izquierdo M.D., Rodriguez Escovar's mentor, who fully supported his doctoral thesis El elemento nervioso en el apendice libre. Sus aplicaciones quirurgicas (The nervous element in the free appendix: Its surgical applications) to the extent that he submitted it for the consideration of Michel Latarjet, professor of human anatomy at University of Lyon, son of André Latarjet and editor of the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise until 1978, the date of its final edition.
The Rodriguez Escovar's research in his doctoral thesis is cited in the ninth edition in Spanish, dated 1960, of the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise in Volume IV, page 429 where it says, Inervación extrínseca -El profesor doctor Rubén Rodríguez de la Universidad de Caracas, ha descrito un elemento nervioso especial, formanación extrínseca, que determina la sensibilidad de la regíón mesoapendicular", "Extrinsic innervationthe professor, Dr. Ruben Rodriguez of Caracas University, has described a special nervous element of extrinsic formation, that determines the sensibility of the mesoappendicular region" [10].
In this paragraph we found a mistake, Salvat's editor's use the inaccurate words Universidad de Caracas as an alternative to Universidad Central de Venezuela.
Rodriguez Escovar's anatomical description is a contribution to the teaching and learning of human anatomy concerning extrinsic innervation of the cecal appendix with possible clinicalsurgical application.

Discussion
Among anatomists the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise is qualified as one of the most comprehensive human anatomy treatises. Because of its exhaustive descriptive content and illustrations, the Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise is still a very useful teaching tool in many Latin American and European Medical Faculties. Indeed, certainly Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is not in the greatest group of prominent anatomists mentioned in the Treatise, among who are Vesalius, Valverde, Falopio, Eustaquio, Aranzio, Mondeville, Vacarí, Sappey, Broca, Luschka, Scarpa, Orfila, Hunter, Waldeyer, Merckel and others. Nevertheless on merit alone for his research about meso-appendicular region's innervations, he was cited into Testut-Latarjet 's treatise. As far as the present author knows, Rubén Rodriguez Escovar is the sole Non-European anatomist to be mentioned in the outstanding Testut-Latarjet Human Anatomy Treatise.