Moniz, << maw NEESH, >> António Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas (1874-1955), shared the 1949 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Moniz introduced the prefrontal leucotomy, or lobotomy, operation as a therapeutic procedure in certain mental diseases. He and Almeida Lima operated on 29 patients with a hollow needle containing a steel-wire cutting loop. The tool cuts nerve fibers that connect parts of the brain.
Moniz was born on Nov. 29, 1874, in Avanca, near Estarreja, Portugal. He became professor of neurology in Lisbon in 1911. He held political posts from 1903 to 1919, including minister of foreign affairs. Moniz died on Dec. 13, 1955.
