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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-mast-

Published: Friday, March 13, 2015 07:00 | Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D. | Hits: 8777

UPDATED: The root term [-mast-] arises from the Greek [μαστός] or [mastos] meaning "breast". A synonymous prefix is [mamm-] from the Latin [mamma], also meaning "breast".  This prefix is used in medical terms such as:

• Mastectomy: The suffix [ectomy] means "removal of". Removal of the breast. This is an old operation, the first known records are from 180 A.D. The modern operation for radical mastectomy with careful removal of the related lymphatics was developed by William Halsted (1852 - 1922). The synonym [mammectomy] is correct, though rarely used. The word [masectomy] to refer to this procedure is incorrect and should not be used

• Mastoptosis: The suffix [-(o)ptosis] means "to fall", "to sag" or "go down". A falling or sagging of the breast. (Syn. mammoptosis)

 Cranium, posterior view. (Toldt's Anatomy Atlas)
Article image in public domain, modified from Toldt's "Atlas of Human Anatomy", 1903
• Mastoid: The suffix [oid] means "similar to". Similar to a breast or with the shape of a breast, such as the mastoid process, a bony prominence of the temporal bone. See accompanying image

• Mastoplasty: The suffix [-(o)plasty] is used to mean "surgical reshaping". Surgical reshaping of the breast. Better known as a mammoplasty

• Mastopexy: A type of mastoplasty. The suffix "opexy" is used to mean "surgical fixation". Surgical fixation of the breast. In a mastopexy, the breast is "fixed" higher to reduce the mastoptosis. (Syn. mammopexy)

There is an interesting evolution of this word. The above applies only when the term [-mast-] is used as a root term, and combined with other word components. From the Greek, this term was passed on to Latin and thence evolved with the German term [m?sten] meaning "to feed" or "to fatten". This is why we have [mast cells] in histology. These are a type of mononuclear leukocyte described by Paul Ehrlich (1814 - 1915) in 1879, who named them [maztellen], which in German means "a well-fed cell".

For images of mastoptosis and mastopexy,  CLICK HERE. Warning: images depict nude bodies. 

Sources:
1. "The Origin of Medical Terms" Skinner, HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co.
2. "Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary" 28th Ed. W.B. Saunders. 1994
3. "Medical Terminology; Exercises in Etymology" Dunmore CW, Fleischer RM 2nd Ed. 1985
4. "Medical Meanings; A Glossary of Word Origins" Haubrich, WS. Am Coll Phys 1997
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