François Pourfour du Petit
Encyclopedia
François Pourfour du Petit (June 24, 1664 – June 18, 1741) was a French anatomist, ophthalmologist and surgeon
who was a native of Paris
. He studied medicine at the University of Montpellier
, and afterwards studied surgery
at the Hôpital de la Charité
in Paris. During this period of time he also attended lectures by Guichard Joseph Duverney
(1648–1730) in anatomy and Joseph Pitton de Tournefort
(1656–1708) in botany
. Between 1693 and 1713 he was a military physician in the armies of Louis XIV, and after the Peace of Utrecht (1713), he returned to Paris as an eye specialist. From 1722 to 1741 he was a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences.
Petit is remembered for his anatomical studies of the eye
, as well as physiological
research of the sympathetic nervous system
. As a military physician, Petit noticed that there was a striking correlation between soldiers' head wounds and contralateral motor effects, which he documented in a 1710 treatise called Lettres d’un medecin des hopitaux du roi a un autre medecin de ses amis. He performed pioneer investigations concerning the internal structure of the spinal cord
, and gave an early, accurate description of the decussation of the pyramids
. He also provided the first clinical description of what would later be known as Horner's syndrome
.
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
who was a native of 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 studied medicine at the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
, and afterwards studied surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
at the Hôpital de la Charité
Hôpital de la Charité
Hôpital de la Charité was a hospital in Paris founded in the 17th century and closed in 1935.-History:In 1606, Marie de Médicis invited the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God to come to France. The Abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés granted them the use of its former Saint-Père chapel, which...
in Paris. During this period of time he also attended lectures by Guichard Joseph Duverney
Guichard Joseph Duverney
Guichard Joseph Duverney or Joseph-Guichard Du Verney was a French anatomist who was a native of Feurs in the province of Forez....
(1648–1730) in anatomy and Joseph Pitton de Tournefort
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants.- Biography :...
(1656–1708) in botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
. Between 1693 and 1713 he was a military physician in the armies of Louis XIV, and after the Peace of Utrecht (1713), he returned to Paris as an eye specialist. From 1722 to 1741 he was a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences.
Petit is remembered for his anatomical studies of the eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
, as well as physiological
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
research of the sympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system is one of the three parts of the autonomic nervous system, along with the enteric and parasympathetic systems. Its general action is to mobilize the body's nervous system fight-or-flight response...
. As a military physician, Petit noticed that there was a striking correlation between soldiers' head wounds and contralateral motor effects, which he documented in a 1710 treatise called Lettres d’un medecin des hopitaux du roi a un autre medecin de ses amis. He performed pioneer investigations concerning the internal structure of the spinal cord
Spinal cord
The 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...
, and gave an early, accurate description of the decussation of the pyramids
Decussation of the pyramids
The two pyramids contain the motor fibers that pass from the brain to the medulla oblongata and medulla spinalis, corticobulbar and corticospinal fibers....
. He also provided the first clinical description of what would later be known as Horner's syndrome
Horner's syndrome
Horner's syndrome is the combination of drooping of the eyelid and constriction of the pupil , sometimes accompanied by decreased sweating of the face on the same side; redness of the conjunctiva of the eye is often also present...
.
- Associated eponyms:
- Petit's canals: Also known as spatia zonularia, lymphLymphLymph is considered a part of the interstitial fluid, the fluid which lies in the interstices of all body tissues. Interstitial fluid becomes lymph when it enters a lymph capillary...
-filled spaces between the fibers of the ciliary zonule at the equator of the lensLens (anatomy)The crystalline lens is a transparent, biconvex structure in the eye that, along with the cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the retina. The lens, by changing shape, functions to change the focal distance of the eye so that it can focus on objects at various distances, thus allowing a...
of the eye. - Petit's sinuses: Also known as aortic sinusAortic sinusAn aortic sinus is one of the anatomic dilations of the ascending aorta, which occurs just above the aortic valve.There are generally three aortic sinuses, the left posterior, the right posterior and the anterior....
es, the space between each semilunar valve and the wall of the aortaAortaThe aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
.