Spain has a Nobel Prize in Medicine, Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1906), pioneer in the description of the functioning of the nervous system. Others were on the verge of being nominated, such as Jaime Ferrán y Clúa, discoverer of the cholera vaccine, which put an end to the epidemic that devastated Spain in the 19th century. He would later develop vaccines for tetanus, typhoid, tuberculosis and rabies. Also nominated were José Gómez Ocaña and August Pi i Sunyer. In the 19th century, the Balmis Expedition was the first international health expedition in history, with the aim of bringing the smallpox vaccine to all continents, a disease that was causing thousands of deaths of children worldwide. In 1921, surgeon Fidel Pagés developed the epidural anesthesia technique. The engineer Manuel Jalón Corominas invented the disposable hypodermic needle. Today Pedro Cavadas is internationally recognized for his milestones in transplant surgery.
