Charles Foix
Encyclopedia
Charles Foix was a French
internist and neurologist
.
Charles Foix was born in Salies-de-Béarn
, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
. He studied medicine at the University of Paris
and was a pupil of Pierre Marie at the Salpêtrière Hospital
(Paris
). He was an intern in 1906, Médecin des hôpitaux in 1919 and became agrégé in 1923.
Foix taught at Georges Guillain
's clinic at the Salpêtrière and at Emile Charles Achard
's at the Hospital Beaujon, always distinguishing himself by his wide knowledge and rational approach.
Foix' main contributions to the neurology
was to relate thrombosis
of specific arteries at autopsies with symptoms and signs that he had established in his patients and he wrote a book on the blood supply and anatomy of the brain. With Ion Niculescu he published an imposing treatise on the anatomy and blood supply of the midbrain and interbrain.
A most impressive teacher and clinician, Foix was almost as much at home with general medicine as he was with neurology. He was an accomplished poet, but even a better lyricist.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
internist and neurologist
Neurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
.
Charles Foix was born in Salies-de-Béarn
Salies-de-Béarn
Salies-de-Béarn is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.The name comes from its naturally occurring saline water...
, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
. He studied medicine at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and was a pupil of Pierre Marie at the Salpêtrière Hospital
Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital
The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital is a teaching hospital located in Paris, France. Part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, it is one of Europe's largest hospitals...
(Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
). He was an intern in 1906, Médecin des hôpitaux in 1919 and became agrégé in 1923.
Foix taught at Georges Guillain
Georges Guillain
Georges Charles Guillain was a French neurologist born in Rouen.He studied medicine in Rouen and Paris, where he learned clinical education at several hospitals. He developed an interest in neurology, and his first important scientific work involved lesions of the plexus brachialis...
's clinic at the Salpêtrière and at Emile Charles Achard
Emile Achard
Emile Achard, full name Emile Charles Achard was a French internist born in Paris. In 1893 he became médecin des hôpitaux, and later a professor of general pathology and therapeutics. In 1910 he was appointed professor of internal medicine at the University of Paris...
's at the Hospital Beaujon, always distinguishing himself by his wide knowledge and rational approach.
Foix' main contributions to the neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
was to relate thrombosis
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...
of specific arteries at autopsies with symptoms and signs that he had established in his patients and he wrote a book on the blood supply and anatomy of the brain. With Ion Niculescu he published an imposing treatise on the anatomy and blood supply of the midbrain and interbrain.
A most impressive teacher and clinician, Foix was almost as much at home with general medicine as he was with neurology. He was an accomplished poet, but even a better lyricist.
Associated eponyms
- Foix's syndrome I, Red nucleusRed nucleusThe red nucleus is a structure in the rostral midbrain involved in motor coordination. It comprises a caudal magnocellular and a rostral parvocellular part.-Function:...
(anterior portion) syndrome. - Foix's syndrome II, Ophtalmoplegic disease secondary to intracranial aneurysmas or thrombosis of the cavernous sinusCavernous sinusThe cavernous sinus , within the human head, is a large collection of thin-walled veins creating a cavity bordered by the temporal bone of the skull and the sphenoid bone, lateral to the sella turcica.-Contents:...
. - Foix-Alajouanine diseaseFoix-Alajouanine syndromeFoix-Alajouanine syndrome is a disorder caused by an arteriovenous malformation of the spinal cord. The patients present with symptoms indicating spinal cord involvement , and pathological examination reveals disseminated nerve cell death in the spinal cord and abnormally dilated and tortuous vessels...
, Softening of the grey matterGrey matterGrey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil , glial cells and capillaries. Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts...
of the spinal cordSpinal cordThe spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
with obliterative sclerosisSclerosis (medicine)In medicine, sclerosis refers to the stiffening of a structure, usually caused by a replacement of the normal organ-specific tissue with connective tissue.Types include:...
of the small vessels. - Marie-Foix-Alajouanine syndrome, AtaxiaAtaxiaAtaxia is a neurological sign and symptom that consists of gross lack of coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum...
of the cerebellumCerebellumThe cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established...
in advanced age, frequently due to abuse of alcohol. - Schilder-Foix disease, Nonprogressive sclerotic lesions of the white matterWhite matterWhite matter is one of the two components of the central nervous system and consists mostly of myelinated axons. White matter tissue of the freshly cut brain appears pinkish white to the naked eye because myelin is composed largely of lipid tissue veined with capillaries. Its white color is due to...
of the cerebral hemisphere.