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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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George Papanicolaou, MD, PhD


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.To search all the articles in this series, click here.

George Papanicolau, MD, PhD (1883 - 1962) Greek physician, cytologyst, physyiologist, and zoologist, Papanicolaou was born on the island of Euboea, Greece. His original Greek name is Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou. He initially attended the University of Athens, earning his MD in 1904.

After two years as a conscript in the Army, Papanicolaou continued additional studies in Zoology earning his PhD in 1910, later going back to the army as a physician.

Papanicolaou immigrated to the USA in 1913 with his wife. He took a position at the anatomy department of the Cornell University where over the next 45 years established the field of diagnostic cytology, becoming a Professor Emeritus of Clinical Anatomy.

His studies took him to study the cytological patterns in the internal genitalia of guinea pigs, establishing a “cytological calendar”. This study he continued in humans, where he discovered malignant changes in some of the cells obtained. His study on vaginal smears was published in 1943, starting what today is known as a “Pap smear”, a simple annual study that saves thousands of women from cervical and uterine cancer.

Dr. Papanicolaou died in 1960. His personal motto was “I live to serve life”

George PapanicolaouOriginal image courtesy of www.nih.gov
Sources:
1. “George Nicholas Papanicolaou, 1883-1962” Owens, C. Endoc T 2008:6(5) 28
2. "George N Papanicolaou (1883-1962) MD" Frangos, CC. J Me Biog 17 (3) 134
3. "George N. Papanicolaou, MD, PhD" Elgert, P A; Lab Med (2009) 40;4 245
4. "The diagnostic value of vaginal smears in carcinoma of the uterus" Papanicolaou, GN; Traut HF; Amm J Obst Gyn 1941; 42:193-206.
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