In memoriam Dr. Ângelo Machado

Professor Ângelo Machado: career, scientific contributions, and the iconic neuroanatomy book

“…He had also been working as a trainee in the Anatomy Department of School of Medicine at UFMG. Although he had been graduated in Medicine at UFMG in 1958, he had never practiced as a physician 2 . He immediately started his lectures at the Anatomy Department, exerting good influence over medical students and becoming renowned for his remarkable didactic skills and his iconoclastic and sarcastic sense of humor 2,5 .…”

“…Although he had been graduated in Medicine at UFMG in 1958, he had never practiced as a physician 2 . He immediately started his lectures at the Anatomy Department, exerting good influence over medical students and becoming renowned for his remarkable didactic skills and his iconoclastic and sarcastic sense of humor 2,5 . In some of his jokes, when he was asked why he was interested in the pineal gland, he used to answer "my professor of Anatomy thought some weird field I should research for: the pineal gland of the armadillo.…”

“…He worked broadly as a professor, neuroscientist, writer, dramaturgist, and entomologist but was never enchanted by bureaucratic positions 3 . In the neurobiology field, not only he was crucial for the knowledge regarding the involvement of the autonomous nervous system in animal models of Chagas disease, but also his time working as a professor of neuroanatomy was pivotal in the development of the book Neuroanatomia Funcional, launched in 1974, nowadays in its 3rd edition (2014) 2,6 . During his academic career, he substantially dedicated himself to the taxonomy of dragonflies 7 , the popularization of science, children's education, and nature conservation 8 .…”

“…His work as a professor of neuroanatomy associated with his great didactic and language skills was a landmark in the history of this field in Brazil. His students started collecting the knowledge that has been transmitted in his classes 2 . Soon, this material was gathered by the professor (Figure 2A), and he was strongly encouraged by his wife and friends to publish the first nationally published book about neuroanatomy 2 .…”

“…He graduated in Medicine at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in 1958, for which he later dedicated 67 years of beloved work 1 . His academic life can be divided into two periods: the first as professor and neuroscientist, which resulted in his masterpiece, the book Neuroanatomia Funcional 2,3 , and the second as the professor of entomology at the same institution. He was married to Conceição Ribeiro da Silva Machado (1936Machado ( -2007 -his "major scientific discovery" as he stated, with whom he shared not only a life of love and partnership but also an academic life, which resulted in the creation of the Neurobiology Laboratory at the UFMG 1,2,4 .…”