Dr. Miguel de Oliveira Couto was born in Rio de Janeiro on May 1, 1865, to Francisco de Oliveira Couto and Maria Rosa do Espírito Santo.
He graduated in medicine at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine in 1885, after defending a thesis titled “On Parasitic Etiology in Relation to Infectious Diseases.” During his university studies, he worked under the guidance of Professor José Pereira Rego and was approved in a diploma-based public examination to work as an intern for Dr. João Vicente Torres Homem.
In 1892, Dr. Azevedo Sodré invited Dr. Couto to work at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to serving at the now closed São Sebastião Hospital, where he led important studies on the study of yellow fever.
Dr. Couto was sworn in as a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM) on April 1, 1897, after submitting a dissertation called “The Vagus Nerve in Influenza.” The physician held several positions on the board of the institution and later served as President from 1913 to 1915, after which time he was reelected. He was promoted to an Emeritus Member in 1927 and acknowledged as the Permanent President of the organization on July 11, 1929. Dr. Couto chaired the Academy until his passing in 1934 and is honored as the Patron of Chair Number 9.
He replaced Doctor Francisco de Couto as Professor of Propaedeutics (General Pathology) and was then awarded the position of Full Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro (currently, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). Dr. Couto also served as Head of the 18th Ward of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, which would later be chaired by Academy Members Pedro Alves da Costa Couto and José Galvão Alves.
At the Santa Casa Hospital, he was responsible for establishing an outstanding department that yielded numerous theses and papers that examined the field of clinical medicine. Also, he mentored several of the clinic’s doctors and inaugurated the first-ever X-ray machine in Brazil at the 7th Ward of the hospital, which he additionally led. Furthermore, Dr. Couto was a pioneer in aviation medicine in Brazil.
Other titles awarded to Dr. Miguel Couto include Member of the Rio de Janeiro State and the Paraíba State Medical and Surgical Societies, Member and Vice-President of the Sociedade Médica dos Hospitais do Rio de Janeiro (State of Rio de Janeiro Medical Society of Hospitals), and Member of the Technical Administrative Board of the College of Medicine of the University of Rio de Janeiro. He also composed the Council of Higher Education and the Society of Medicine of São Paulo, in addition to holding the position of Benefactor Partner at the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro
Dr. Couto’s brilliant resume also included the positions of Corresponding Member of the Societé de Pathologie Exotique in Paris, the Cuban Academy of Medicine in Havana, the Academy of Medicine of Colombia, the Ecuadorian Surgical Society, the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, and France’s Medical Society of Paris Hospitals.
He was an Honorary Member of the Niterói Medical and Surgical Society and a Member of the French National Academy, the Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine, the Berlin Medical Academy, the Royal Medical Academy of Rome, the Argentine Medical Association, and the Brazilian Institute of Stomatology (SOBEP).
Furthermore, the physician founded and composed the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine. His brilliant and long-lasting contributions to medicine are forever remembered and honored as Patron of Chair Number 6 of the ANM and Chair Number 39 of the Brazilian Academy of Military Medicine.
The physician, writer and scholar was also awarded the title of Professor Honoris Causa by the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the University of Lima, Peru, in addition to being bestowed the Venezuelan Medal of Public Education and the Belgian Order of the Crown.
Dr. Couto left an extensive legacy of papers and articles. Some of these include “Dos espasmos nas afecções dos centros nervosos” (“On Spasms resulting from Central Nervous Conditions”); “A Gangrena Gasosa Fulminante” (“Fulminating Gas Gangrene”); the “Patogenias das Icterícias” (“Jaundice Pathoghensis”) paper co-written with Dr. Azevedo Sodré; “Diagnóstico Precoce da Febre Amarela pelo Exame Espectroscópico da Urina” (“Early Diagnosis of Yellow Fever through Urine Spectroscopy”), and “Lições de Clínica Médica” (“Lessons in Clinical Medicine”).
However, Dr. Couto’s efforts were not restricted to the field of medicine since he also worked as a writer and politician. He was a polyglot and a scholar on the Portuguese language.
He thus joined the Academy of Letters of Rio de Janeiro and was honored with the title of Perpetual Member of that institution in 1916.
On a side note, Dr. Couto opposed Japanese immigration to Brazil since, in his belief, it could potentially pose a serious threat to the country.
On July 2, 1927, he hosted a conference at the Brazilian Education Association, during which time he introduced a project on education that would subsequently be implemented in most Brazilian schools and professional education institutes in the country’s Federal District (former name of the city of Rio de Janeiro). The document he presented at the time called upon the government to inaugurate a Ministry of Education divided into two distinct departments: one would be responsible for education, while the other would focus on sanitation. On November 14, 1930, the Head of the Provisional Government of Brazil established a State Office called the Ministry of Education and Public Health.
In 1933, Dr. Couto was appointed to represent the Federal District as its Representative Congressman.
Furthermore, one of his sons was Academy Member Miguel Couto Filho, a distinguished physician who served as Minister of Health (1953-1954), Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro (1955-1958) and Senator (1959-1967).
The National Academy of Medicine’s (ANM) Amphitheater is named after Dr. Couto. Also, as a tribute to his brilliant career and contributions, the renowned Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro’s Gávea neighborhood and a neighborhood in the city of Nova Iguacu was named after him, in addition to a number of streets and public squares all across the country.
Dr. Miguel de Oliveira Couto passed away on June 6, 1934, in his native city of Rio de Janeiro, due to a sudden onset of “angina pectoris.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio
Academic number: 172
Chair: 09
Chair honored: 09
Member: Emeritus
Section: Medicine
Election: 10/12/1896
Inauguration: 01/04/1897
President: Agostinho José de Souza Lima
Emeritus Member Status: 01/09/1927
Death: 06/06/1934
Academic number: 172
Chair: 09
Chair honored: 09
Member: Emeritus
Section: Medicine
Election: 10/12/1896
Inauguration: 01/04/1897
President: Agostinho José de Souza Lima
Emeritus Member Status: 01/09/1927
Death: 06/06/1934
Dr. Miguel de Oliveira Couto was born in Rio de Janeiro on May 1, 1865, to Francisco de Oliveira Couto and Maria Rosa do Espírito Santo.
He graduated in medicine at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine in 1885, after defending a thesis titled “On Parasitic Etiology in Relation to Infectious Diseases.” During his university studies, he worked under the guidance of Professor José Pereira Rego and was approved in a diploma-based public examination to work as an intern for Dr. João Vicente Torres Homem.
In 1892, Dr. Azevedo Sodré invited Dr. Couto to work at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to serving at the now closed São Sebastião Hospital, where he led important studies on the study of yellow fever.
Dr. Couto was sworn in as a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM) on April 1, 1897, after submitting a dissertation called “The Vagus Nerve in Influenza.” The physician held several positions on the board of the institution and later served as President from 1913 to 1915, after which time he was reelected. He was promoted to an Emeritus Member in 1927 and acknowledged as the Permanent President of the organization on July 11, 1929. Dr. Couto chaired the Academy until his passing in 1934 and is honored as the Patron of Chair Number 9.
He replaced Doctor Francisco de Couto as Professor of Propaedeutics (General Pathology) and was then awarded the position of Full Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro (currently, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ). Dr. Couto also served as Head of the 18th Ward of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, which would later be chaired by Academy Members Pedro Alves da Costa Couto and José Galvão Alves.
At the Santa Casa Hospital, he was responsible for establishing an outstanding department that yielded numerous theses and papers that examined the field of clinical medicine. Also, he mentored several of the clinic’s doctors and inaugurated the first-ever X-ray machine in Brazil at the 7th Ward of the hospital, which he additionally led. Furthermore, Dr. Couto was a pioneer in aviation medicine in Brazil.
Other titles awarded to Dr. Miguel Couto include Member of the Rio de Janeiro State and the Paraíba State Medical and Surgical Societies, Member and Vice-President of the Sociedade Médica dos Hospitais do Rio de Janeiro (State of Rio de Janeiro Medical Society of Hospitals), and Member of the Technical Administrative Board of the College of Medicine of the University of Rio de Janeiro. He also composed the Council of Higher Education and the Society of Medicine of São Paulo, in addition to holding the position of Benefactor Partner at the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro
Dr. Couto’s brilliant resume also included the positions of Corresponding Member of the Societé de Pathologie Exotique in Paris, the Cuban Academy of Medicine in Havana, the Academy of Medicine of Colombia, the Ecuadorian Surgical Society, the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, and France’s Medical Society of Paris Hospitals.
He was an Honorary Member of the Niterói Medical and Surgical Society and a Member of the French National Academy, the Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine, the Berlin Medical Academy, the Royal Medical Academy of Rome, the Argentine Medical Association, and the Brazilian Institute of Stomatology (SOBEP).
Furthermore, the physician founded and composed the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine. His brilliant and long-lasting contributions to medicine are forever remembered and honored as Patron of Chair Number 6 of the ANM and Chair Number 39 of the Brazilian Academy of Military Medicine.
The physician, writer and scholar was also awarded the title of Professor Honoris Causa by the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the University of Lima, Peru, in addition to being bestowed the Venezuelan Medal of Public Education and the Belgian Order of the Crown.
Dr. Couto left an extensive legacy of papers and articles. Some of these include “Dos espasmos nas afecções dos centros nervosos” (“On Spasms resulting from Central Nervous Conditions”); “A Gangrena Gasosa Fulminante” (“Fulminating Gas Gangrene”); the “Patogenias das Icterícias” (“Jaundice Pathoghensis”) paper co-written with Dr. Azevedo Sodré; “Diagnóstico Precoce da Febre Amarela pelo Exame Espectroscópico da Urina” (“Early Diagnosis of Yellow Fever through Urine Spectroscopy”), and “Lições de Clínica Médica” (“Lessons in Clinical Medicine”).
However, Dr. Couto’s efforts were not restricted to the field of medicine since he also worked as a writer and politician. He was a polyglot and a scholar on the Portuguese language.
He thus joined the Academy of Letters of Rio de Janeiro and was honored with the title of Perpetual Member of that institution in 1916.
On a side note, Dr. Couto opposed Japanese immigration to Brazil since, in his belief, it could potentially pose a serious threat to the country.
On July 2, 1927, he hosted a conference at the Brazilian Education Association, during which time he introduced a project on education that would subsequently be implemented in most Brazilian schools and professional education institutes in the country’s Federal District (former name of the city of Rio de Janeiro). The document he presented at the time called upon the government to inaugurate a Ministry of Education divided into two distinct departments: one would be responsible for education, while the other would focus on sanitation. On November 14, 1930, the Head of the Provisional Government of Brazil established a State Office called the Ministry of Education and Public Health.
In 1933, Dr. Couto was appointed to represent the Federal District as its Representative Congressman.
Furthermore, one of his sons was Academy Member Miguel Couto Filho, a distinguished physician who served as Minister of Health (1953-1954), Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro (1955-1958) and Senator (1959-1967).
The National Academy of Medicine’s (ANM) Amphitheater is named after Dr. Couto. Also, as a tribute to his brilliant career and contributions, the renowned Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro’s Gávea neighborhood and a neighborhood in the city of Nova Iguacu was named after him, in addition to a number of streets and public squares all across the country.
Dr. Miguel de Oliveira Couto passed away on June 6, 1934, in his native city of Rio de Janeiro, due to a sudden onset of “angina pectoris.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio