Louis-Florentin Calmeil
Encyclopedia
Louis-Florentin Calmeil was a French psychiatrist
and medical historian born in Yversay
. He was an assistant to Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol
(1772-1840) at Charenton
, where he later succeeded Esquirol as director.
He is remembered for a work on insanity
called De la folie, considérée sous le point de vue pathologique, philosophique, historique et judiciaire. It was one of the first publications dedicated to the history of psychiatry
, and was a rational discourse of topics such as demonology
, lycanthropy
, religious obsession and other abnormal thought processes. The book covered psychiatric issues from the 15th to 19th centuries, and is still read today. Another important work by Calmeil was an 1826 treatise which discussed general paresis, the first separately identifiable neuropsychiatric
disease entity. General paresis was originally described a few years earlier by Antoine Laurent Bayle
(1799-1858).
Calmeil is credited with introducing the concept of "epileptic absence" for the brief loss of consciousness or confusion observed in epileptic patients.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
and medical historian born in Yversay
Yversay
Yversay is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France....
. He was an assistant to Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol
Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol
Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol was a French psychiatrist.Born and raised in Toulouse, Esquirol completed his education at Montpellier...
(1772-1840) at Charenton
Charenton (asylum)
Charenton was a lunatic asylum, founded in 1645 by the Frères de la Charité in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, now Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France....
, where he later succeeded Esquirol as director.
He is remembered for a work on insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
called De la folie, considérée sous le point de vue pathologique, philosophique, historique et judiciaire. It was one of the first publications dedicated to the history of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, and was a rational discourse of topics such as demonology
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
, lycanthropy
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...
, religious obsession and other abnormal thought processes. The book covered psychiatric issues from the 15th to 19th centuries, and is still read today. Another important work by Calmeil was an 1826 treatise which discussed general paresis, the first separately identifiable neuropsychiatric
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. It preceded the current disciplines of psychiatry and neurology, in as much as psychiatrists and neurologists had a common training....
disease entity. General paresis was originally described a few years earlier by Antoine Laurent Bayle
Antoine Laurent Bayle
Antoine Laurent Jessé Bayle was a French physician who was born in Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. He was a nephew to pathologist Gaspard Laurent Bayle ....
(1799-1858).
Calmeil is credited with introducing the concept of "epileptic absence" for the brief loss of consciousness or confusion observed in epileptic patients.
Selected writings
- De la Paralysie consideée chez les Aliénés, (1826)
- Traité d'anatomie et de physiologie du système nerveux, (1840)
- De la folie, considérée sous le point de vue pathologique, philosophique, historique et judiciaire (1845)
- Traité des maladies inflammatoires du Cerveau, (1859)