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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Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle

Published: Monday, May 12, 2014 07:00 | Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D. | Hits: 7295

This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.

Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle

Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (1809 -1885) German physician, anatomist, histologist, and physiologist. Born in  the city F?rth, Henle entered the University of Bonn and studied anatomy with Johannes Muller (1801 – 1859), a professor of anatomy and histology. Henle dedicated his efforts to scientific research, and became the managing editor of the journal “Archives of Anatomy, Physiology, and Scientific Medicine” founded by Muller.

Henle’s career in Berlin suffered after he was arrested for 40 days in jail, because of his past membership in a radical liberal and nationalistic student fraternity, the Burschenschaften. He transferred from Berlin to Zürich where he founded the School of Rational Medicine.

Among his publications, the “Allgemeine Anatomie “(1841) is considered the first treatise on microscopic histology. Also, his book “Handbuch der systematischen Anatomie des Menschen” (Handbook of Human Systematic Anatomy) is a great anatomy book with good illustrations.

Henle moved from Zürich to Heidelberg, and from there to Gôttingen, where he accepted the position of Professor of Anatomy. He stayed at Gôttingen until his death in 1885.

Henle’s many remembered contributions are mostly in the area of histology. His name is found in many eponyms. The eponym most associated with his name is “Henle’s loop”, part of the tubular component of a nephron.

• Crypts of Henle: Microscopic pockets located in the conjunctiva of the eye
• Henle's fissure: Fibrous tissue between the cardiac muscle fibers.
• Henle's ampulla: Ampulla of the uterine (Fallopian) tube
• Henle's layer: Outer layer of cells of root sheath of a hair follicle.
• Henle's ligament (tendon): Tendon of the transversus abdominis muscle.
• Henle's membrane: The layer forming the inner boundary of the choroid of the eye

Sources:
1. "The Origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co.
2. “The Man Behind the Eponym Jacob Henle: Henle’s Layer of the Internal Root Sheath” Steffen C. Am J Dermatopath (2001) 23(6): 549–551
3. “The life of Jacob Henle” Robinson A Medical Life Co. 1921.
Original image in the public domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia.