Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevilla

The Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevilla, commonly known as RAMSE, is a historic medical academy based in Seville, Spain. It traces its origins to 1693, when the Sevillian physician Juan Muñoz y Peralta and the Murcian physician Diego Mateo Zapata established the Veneranda Tertulia Médica Hispalense. The institution is described as the first medical institution founded in Spain and has maintained an uninterrupted existence spanning more than three centuries. RAMSE functions as an academic and professional institution rather than as a commercial healthcare brand. Its stated purpose is to promote health in physical, psychological, and social dimensions and to contribute to the expansion and dissemination of knowledge across medical sciences and their various specialties. Its geographic area of activity encompasses the provinces of Seville, Córdoba, and Huelva, giving it a regional role within Andalusia. The academy is based at 10–12 Abades Street in Seville. Its heritage includes a substantial library developed over the course of its long institutional history. The collection contains more than 13,000 books, including an Old Collection of 902 works dating from before 1826. Among the older holdings are four incunabula and eight post-incunabula, together with other rare or unusual medical and scientific works. The academy has digitized 568 of these works in full text, making part of its historical collection available for online consultation. RAMSE also has an associated Foundation-RAMSE. The foundation supports the academy’s objectives and acts as an intermediary with collaborators, helping facilitate activities connected with the institution’s scholarly, cultural, and public-health mission. The academy’s membership and institutional profile reflect both its Spanish origins and broader international connections. In 2015, Edgardo D. Carosella became the first non-Spanish member of the academy, an event that marked an expansion of its membership beyond its traditional national base. Leadership has included Jesús Castiñeiras Fernández, who served as president until 2022, and Carlos A. Infantes Alcón, who has served as president since 2022. RAMSE’s principal identity is therefore that of a learned medical institution and custodian of scientific heritage. Its activities combine the advancement of medical knowledge, recognition of professional and academic achievement, preservation of historical resources, and regional engagement in health-related scholarship. It is linked with wider Andalusian academic structures, including the Institute of Academies of Andalusia, and remains an active institution headquartered in Seville.

The Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevilla originated in 1693 as the Veneranda Tertulia Médica Hispalense, a medical assembly founded by Juan Muñoz y Peralta, a physician from Seville, and Diego Mateo Zapata, a physician from Murcia. Its creation placed organized medical discussion and professional exchange at the center of the institution’s early identity. The academy is regarded as the first medical institution established in Spain and has continued without interruption for more than three hundred years. Over the course of its existence, the institution developed from a learned medical gathering into a formal academy concerned with the advancement of medical and surgical knowledge. Its remit extends across different areas and specialties of medical science. In addition to scholarly work, its objectives include the promotion of health understood broadly, encompassing physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. This gives RAMSE a role that combines professional education, scientific communication, institutional representation, and public-health engagement. The academy is located in Seville at 10–12 Abades Street. Its geographical area of action covers the provinces of Seville, Córdoba, and Huelva, linking it to the wider medical and academic life of western Andalusia. The organization is associated with broader Andalusian academic networks, including the Institute of Academies of Andalusia. A major part of RAMSE’s historical importance is its library. Built up over more than three centuries, the collection contains over 13,000 books. Its Old Collection includes 902 works published before 1826. The holdings include four incunabula, eight post-incunabula, and other rare or unusual books reflecting the development of medical and scientific knowledge. The academy has digitized 568 items in full text, extending access to these materials beyond the physical library and supporting historical research. An associated Foundation-RAMSE helps advance the academy’s objectives and serves as an interlocutor with collaborators. Through this structure, the academy can support activities related to scholarship, cultural heritage, institutional cooperation, and the dissemination of medical knowledge. RAMSE’s membership has historically been connected to Spanish medical life, but its profile has also acquired an international dimension. In 2015, Edgardo D. Carosella became the first non-Spanish member of the academy. This development demonstrated that the institution’s scholarly community could extend beyond its national origins while retaining its regional base in Seville. The academy’s recent leadership includes Jesús Castiñeiras Fernández, who served as president until 2022, followed by Carlos A. Infantes Alcón from 2022 onward. The continuity of this leadership structure reflects RAMSE’s status as an active institution rather than solely a historical organization. Today, its identity rests on four connected functions: maintaining a learned medical academy, promoting knowledge across medical specialties, encouraging the advancement of health, and preserving access to Spain’s medical and scientific heritage through its library and digitization work.

• 2022

  Change of presidency

  [1]Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevillaen.wikipedia.org

  Carlos A. Infantes Alcón became president, succeeding Jesús Castiñeiras Fernández.

• 2015

  First non-Spanish member

  [1]Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevillaen.wikipedia.org

  Edgardo D. Carosella became the first non-Spanish member of the academy.

• 1693

  Founding of the Veneranda Tertulia Médica Hispalense

  [1]Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevillaen.wikipedia.org

  Juan Muñoz y Peralta and Diego Mateo Zapata founded the medical assembly that became the institutional predecessor of RAMSE.

A long-established regional medical academy combining scientific and professional exchange, promotion of health knowledge, and preservation of Spain’s medical heritage.

• Medical academy

  RAMSE academic activities

  RAMSE’s core activities are academic rather than commercial. The academy promotes discussion and dissemination in medicine and surgery, supports the expansion of knowledge across medical specialties, and contributes to a broad understanding of health that includes physical, psychological, and social wellbeing.

• Medical heritage library

  RAMSE Library and Old Collection

  The academy maintains a library of more than 13,000 books developed over its long history. Its Old Collection contains 902 works published before 1826, including incunabula, post-incunabula, and other rare or curious medical and scientific works.

• Digital archive

  Digitized historical collection

  RAMSE has made 568 library works available in full-text digital form. The digitization program supports online consultation of historic medical and scientific material while helping preserve access to the physical collection.

1. 1Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevillaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Sevilla official websiteramse.es