Josep Trueta

Josep Trueta
Born 1897
Barcelona
Died January 19, 1977
Barcelona
Nationality Spanish
Scientific career
Fields medicine
Institutions University of Oxford

Josep Trueta i Raspall (1897–1977) was a Spanish medical doctor.

As a Catalan nationalist, he was forced into exile to England after the Spanish Civil War, during which he had been the chief of trauma services for the city of Barcelona. In 1939 his English-language work, Treatment of War Wounds and Fractures, with special reference to the Closed Method as used in the war in Spain, was published in London. His work was noted and accepted by the British RAMC, so influencing British Army medical practice.[1] During World War II, he helped to organize medical emergency services. His use of a new plaster cast method for the treatment of open wounds and fractures helped save a great number of lives during several wars.

Trueta formed part of a group of Catalans exiled in the United Kingdom who denounced the situation of Catalonia under Franco's regime. He wrote The Spirit of Catalonia, a book aimed at explaining Catalan history to English-speaking society.

He joined the team run by Florey and Chain that developed penicillin in Oxford, and held the first live animal to be injected with the revolutionary antibiotic.

He was Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Oxford and directed the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (previously the Wingfield-Morris Hospital). He retired in 1966, and returned to Catalonia.

The main hospital of Girona was named in his honour, as are streets in many towns across Catalonia. Every year the government of Catalonia awards Trueta medals and plaques to professionals and institutions that excel in the Catalan medical field.

Monument to Trueta in Barcelona

References

  1. ↑ Watts, Lt Col J. C. Surgeon at War London 1955 p.18
  • Pérez, Fariña L A (March 2008). "Studies on the kidney and the renal circulation, by Josep Trueta i Raspall (1897-1977)". Actas urologicas españolas. Spain. 32 (3): 276–80. ISSN 0210-4806. PMID 18512383.
  • Fernández Vázquez, Juan Manuel (2007). "Mister Josep Trueta". Acta ortopédica mexicana. Mexico. 21 (3): 168–72. PMID 17937183.
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