François Chaussier
Encyclopedia
François Chaussier was a French anatomist who was a native of Dijon
. He studied medicine in Besançon
, and later returned to Dijon, where he worked as a hospital physician and performed pioneer research in forensic medicine. In 1780 he became a professor of anatomy
. In 1794 he was summoned to Paris
by Antoine-François Fourcroy
(1755–1809), and was given the responsibility of drafting a report on the establishment of learning institutions of health. This report was presented to the National Convention
on November 27, 1794.
Afterwards, Chaussier remained in Paris where he became a professor at the École Polytechnique, and a chief obstetrician at the Paris Maternité, where he was a colleague of Jean-Louis Baudelocque
(1745–1810). In 1822 Chaussier was elected as a member of the Academy of Sciences.
Chaussier did early studies of neuralgia
, and introduced a procedure for revival of "near-dead" newborns. He also performed a descriptive survey of all muscles in the human body, and developed a new system of designation for muscles.
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
. He studied medicine in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, and later returned to Dijon, where he worked as a hospital physician and performed pioneer research in forensic medicine. In 1780 he became a professor of anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
. In 1794 he was summoned to 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...
by Antoine-François Fourcroy
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy was a French chemist and a contemporary of Antoine Lavoisier. Fourcroy collaborated with Lavoisier, Guyton de Morveau, and Claude Berthollet on the Méthode de nomenclature chimique, a work that helped standardize chemical nomenclature.-Life and work:Fourcroy...
(1755–1809), and was given the responsibility of drafting a report on the establishment of learning institutions of health. This report was presented to the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
on November 27, 1794.
Afterwards, Chaussier remained in Paris where he became a professor at the École Polytechnique, and a chief obstetrician at the Paris Maternité, where he was a colleague of Jean-Louis Baudelocque
Jean-Louis Baudelocque
Jean-Louis Baudelocque was a French obstetrician who studied and practiced medicine in Paris. He was born in Heilly, in the region of Picardie.Baudelocque is known for making obstetrics a scientific discipline in France...
(1745–1810). In 1822 Chaussier was elected as a member of the Academy of Sciences.
Chaussier did early studies of neuralgia
Neuralgia
Neuralgia is pain in one or more nerves that occurs without stimulation of pain receptor cells. Neuralgia pain is produced by a change in neurological structure or function rather than by the excitation of pain receptors that causes nociceptive pain. Neuralgia falls into two categories: central...
, and introduced a procedure for revival of "near-dead" newborns. He also performed a descriptive survey of all muscles in the human body, and developed a new system of designation for muscles.
- Associated eponyms:
- Chaussier's areola: A ring of indurated tissue surrounding the lesion of cutaneous anthraxAnthraxAnthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
. - Chaussier's line: Anteroposterior rapheRapheRaphe has several different meanings in science. Pronounced .In botany and planktology it is commonly used when describing a seam or ridge on diatoms or seeds....
of the corpus callosumCorpus callosumThe corpus callosum , also known as the colossal commissure, is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication...
. - Chaussier's sign: Severe pain in the epigastric regionEpigastriumThe epigastrium is the upper central region of the abdomen. It is located between the costal margins and the subcostal plane....
, a premonitory symptom of eclampsiaEclampsiaEclampsia , an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia...
.
Selected publications
- Tables synoptiques d'anatomie (Synoptic tables of Anatomy); (1799-1816)
- Manuel médico-légal des poisons (Handbook of poisons in Forensic Medicine); (1824)
- Recueil de mémoires, consultations, et rapports sur divers objets de médecine légale (Collection of memoirs, consultations, and reports on various objects of Forensic Medicine); (1824)
- Mémoire médico-légal sur la viabilité de l'enfant naissant (Memoir of Forensic Medicine on the viability of childbirth); (1826)