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.

You are welcome to submit questions and suggestions using our "Contact Us" form. The information on this blog follows the terms on our "Privacy and Security Statement" and cannot be construed as medical guidance or instructions for treatment.


We have 165 guests online


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


 "Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc., and the contributors of "Medical Terminology Daily" wish to thank all individuals who donate their bodies and tissues for the advancement of education and research”.

Click here for more information


abebooks banner

bookplateink.com

 

 

Jejunum

<span>Jejunoileal vascular supply</span><span></span>. Public domain
Jejunoileal vascular supply

The jejunum is an intraperitoneal organ, it is the second portion of the small intestine and part of the digestive tract. It begins at the duodenojejunal junction  where it is related to the ligament of Treitz, and extends 8 to 9 feet, continuing distally with the ileum.

Being intraperitoneal, it is anchored to the posterior abdominal wall by the double-layered mesentery through which the jejunum receives its blood and nerve supply. At the root (base) of the mesentery are the superior mesenteric vessels.

The Latin word [jejunis] means "empty" or "fasting". The Latin term [jejunum] was used by the Romans to denote the first meal of the day, breakfast, when you have an "empty" stomach. The term was associated with this segment of the small intestine, as it is most of the time found empty in cadavers being dissected.

There is no clear anatomical boundary between the jejunum and ileum, as they blend smoothly one into the other. There are several gross changes from jejunum to ileum, one of them being that the complexity of the mesenteric arterial arches increases from proximal to distal. See the accompanying image. Click on it for a larger depiction.

Two interesting side notes: In English, the term for the first meal of the day is self-explanatory: [break - fast], adding to the Roman concept of "fasting" or "jejunum". In Spanish, the term for breakfast is [desayuno], where the word [ayuno] means "fasting", therefore the word [des-ayuno] also means "the end of fasting". Look at the evolution (in Spanish) from [jejunum] to [yeyuno] (the Spanish term for the organ) to [ayuno], meaning "fasting" or "empty".

Sources:
1. "The Origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co.
2. "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" Moore, KL. 3r Ed. Williams & Wilkins 1992
3 "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
4. "Anatomy of the Human Body" Henry Gray 1918. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger Image modified by CAA, Inc. Original image by Henry Vandyke Carter, MD., courtesy of bartleby.com