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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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Sir Percival Pott

Published: Monday, October 14, 2013 07:00 | Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D. | Hits: 6027
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.

Sir Percival Pott   (1714 – 1788)

English surgeon and anatomist, Percival Pott was born in London on January 6, 1714. His name has the alternate spelling Percivall. In 1729 Pott started his apprenticeship with a surgeon, William Nourse. At age 22 he received the diploma from the Company of Barber Surgeons, and by age 34 he became a full independent surgeon at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. In 1753 Percival Pott was elected, with William Hunter, as Master of Anatomy at Surgeon’s Hall

His name is eponymically remembered in “Pott’s fracture”, a condition that apparently he himself suffered and that kept him in bed writing several of his most important works. This historical account is refuted by many and could be legend. The fact is that Percival Pott did write about what today is known as “Pott’s fracture”.

Percival Pott was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1764 and became Governor of the Company of Barber Surgeons in 1765.

Sir Percival Pott
Pott was one of the first to recognize a condition caused by industrial working conditions when he diagnosed “Chimney Sweeper’s Cancer” a scrotal cancer caused by the exposure to soot and poor working and personal hygienic  conditions.

Some of Pott’s eponyms:

• Pott’s fracture: Fracture of the fibula superior to the lateral with rupture of the medial ligament and outward displacement of the foot
• Pott’s disease: Spinal tuberculosis with hyperkyphosis
• Pott’s puffy tumor:  Edema of the scalp due to underlying osteomyelitis and suppuration 

Sources:
1. "Sir Percival Pott" Ann R Coll Surg Engl (Suppl) 2011; 93:66–67
2. “Percivall Pott (1714–1788) and chimney sweepers’ cancer of the scrotum” Brown JR, Thornton JL. Br J Ind Med 1957; 14: 68–70
3. "Percival Pott; Pott's fracture, Pott's disease of the spine, Pott's paraplegia". Harold, E. J Periop Pract, 22 (11), 366
4. “The Origin of Medical Terms” Skinner, HA 1970
5. “Dictionary of Medical Eponyms” Firkin, BG; Whitworth JA 1987
6. “Invective in surgery: William Hunter versus Monro Primus, Monro Secundus, and Percival Pott” Ravitch. MM, Bull N Y Acad Med. 1974; 50(7): 797–816
7. “Percivall Pott” Dobson, J. Ann Roy Coll Surg Eng 1972: 50; 50-65
Original image courtesy of "Images from the History of Medicine" at www.nih.gov
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