Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.

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A Moment in History

Jean-Louis Petit

Jean Louis Petit
(1674 – 1750)

French surgeon and anatomist, Jean Louis Petit was born in Paris in on March 13, 1674.  His family rented an apartment at his house to Alexis Littre (1658 – 1726), a French anatomist. Petit became an apprentice of Littre at seven years of age, helping him in the dissections for his lectures and at an early age became the assistant in charge of the anatomic amphitheater.

Because of Petit’s dedication to anatomy and medicine, in 1690 at the age of sixteen, became a disciple of a famous Paris surgeon, Castel.

In 1692, Petit entered the French army and performed surgery in two military campaigns. By 1693 he started delivering lectures and was accepted as a great surgeon, being invited to the most difficult operations.  In 1700 he was appointed Chief Surgeon of the Military School in Paris and in the same year he received the degree of Master of Surgery from the Faculty of Paris.

In 1715 he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and an honorary member of the Royal Society of London. He was appointed by the King as the first Director General of the Royal Academy of Surgery when it was founded in 1731.

Petit’s written works are of historical importance.  “Traite des Maladies des Os” ( A Treatise on Bone Diseases);  “Traite des Maladies Chirurgicales et des Operation” (A Treatise on Surgical Diseases and their Operations” This last book was published posthumously in 1774. He also published a monograph on hemorrhage, another on lachrymal fistula, and others.

He was one of the first to perform choIecystotomy and mastoidotomy. His original tourniquet design for amputations saved many in the battlefield and the design of the same surgical instrument today has not changed much since its invention by him.

His name is remembered in the lumbar triangle, also called the "triangle of Petit", and the abdominal hernia that can ensue through that area of weakness, the lumbar hernia or "Petit's hernia".

Sources:
1. “Jean Louis Petit – A Sketch of his Life, Character, and Writings” Hayne, AP San Fran Western Lancet 1875 4: 446-454
2. “Oeuvres compl?tes de Jean-Louis Petit” 1837 Imprimerie de F. Chapoulaud
3. Extraits de l'eloge de Jean-Louis Petit Ius dans Ia seance publique de I' Academie royale de chirurgie du 26 mai 1750” Louis A. Chirurgie 2001: 126 : 475- 81


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Andreas Vesalius is finally in my office!!!

minivesalius2 lg

Today I received the bust of Andreas Vesalius which will be displayed in my office in a place of honor.

This bust is a small version of a bronze bust made by the Belgian artist Pascale Pollier, who is a contributor to "Medical Terminology Daily". Copies of this original bronze bust can be found is different libraries and museums around the world. Pascale, along with Theo Dirix, Dr. Sylviane Déderix, and others are on a quest to find the cemetery where Andreas Vesalius was buried in the island of Zakynthos in Greece. Eventually, the final quest is to find the body of this illustrius anatomists.

To fund this private research Pascale and other artists have donated their work to a GoFundMe page whose objective is to raise €9,900, roughly US$10,800. You can reach the GoFundMe page here.

This bust that sits in my office today is the sixth in a run of twelve copies. If you go to the GoFundMe page you can opt to aquire other artistic works or one of the last copies of this bust. To acquire the bust there is a minumum required donation of US$350.

As of this publication, the research is 51% funded. We need your help to achieve our goal!!

Vesalius bust by Pascale Pollier, number 6 of 12
Click on the image for a larger view

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