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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Do you want your name in a book? The Quest for the Lost Grave....

Published: Friday, July 14, 2017 07:00 | Hits: 2872

We are getting closer and closer to the objective, that is, to fund and find the lost grave of  Andreas Vesalius, recognized worldwide as the Father of Modern Anatomy. We are setting up the dates for the next phase and preparing the logistics for the crews from Crete and Belgium.

The quest for the lost grave of Andreas Vesalius continues, the permits have been obtained, and we only have the last hurdle to finish, the funding of the project trough our GoFundMe page.

Theo Dirix, a contributor to Medical Terminology Daily, now has an offer that you may like. He wrote the book "In Search of Andreas Vesalius" which relates the beginning of this Quest. The book is out-of-print today, but there are a few copies available. By donating 30 € (US$35)you'll receive one of the last available copies and you'll be mentioned in the sequel of the book that will be dedicated to the next stage of the project.

The project is private and funded by those who believe we still have an opportunity to find the lost grave. For more information, you are welcome to read Theo Dirix's article : "To put it in another way: where do we have to look for Vesalius's grave?" 

Here are some reviews for Theo Drix's book "In Search of Andreas Vesalius" :

Vivian Nutton: "I read with pleasure and wry amusement Theo’s account (..) and was reminded of reading the autobiographical account by Stephen Miller of his time as head of the American archaeological school and the boss of the Nemea excavations in the 1980s and 90s (...)

Cover of the book by Theo Dirix
Cover of the book by Theo Dirix.
Click on the image for a larger depiction
(Professor Vivian Nutton specialises in the history of the classical tradition in medicine, from Antiquity to the present, and particularly on Galen, some of whose works he has edited and translated, and on medicine during the Renaissance.)

Jacqueline Vons: " here is a book " without claim " but well documented, which is committed to tracing the research made to zakynthos by the author and a team of doctors, historians and artists to find the tomb of vesalius (1514-1564).

(Jacqueline Vons est professeur agrégé de lettres classiques, docteur ès études latines, enseignant-chercheur habilité à diriger des recherches. Elle a enseigné le latin et l'histoire de la médecine au CESR et à la faculté de Lettres de Tours et a assuré pendant plusieurs années des enseignements complémentaires en sciences humaines à la faculté de Médecine. Ses thèmes de recherche sont orientés vers l'histoire de la médecine et notamment autour d'André Vésale (éditions, traductions, transcriptions), de la pensée et des pratiques médicales en France à l'époque moderne ainsi que des textes médicaux latins centrés principalement sur l'anatomie.)

Maurits Biesbrouck: in search of Andreas Vesalius is so well researched and written, that if the further search for his grave completely shutting down (something we hope not! ) and only after a few decades be rebooted again, the perfect future researchers would know to where you came, and the wire without wasting time we can again. It is a very detailed history of the search that has already been made, a solid status and simultaneously present an extremely valuable tool for further extrapolating.

(Dr. Maurits Biesbrouck has a lifelong interest in Andreas Vesalius. He translated the first book of the De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem into Dutch, compiled an annually updated Vesalius-bibliography and wrote many articles on his life and works, many as a co-author with Omer Steeno (Leuven, Belgium) and Theodoor Goddeeris (Kortrijk, Belgium). See www.andreasvesalius.be.)

UPDATE: April 25, 2018.  Theo Dirix's new book is already published, the names of the contributors have been incorporated in the book. The title of the new book is "In Search of Andreas Vesalius The Quest for the Grave, Lost and not yet found". Dr. Miranda
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