Marie François Xavier Bichat
Encyclopedia
Marie François Xavier Bichat (November 14, 1771 – July 22, 1802), French
anatomist and physiologist, was born at Thoirette
(Jura).
Bichat is best remembered as the father of modern histology
and pathology
. Despite the fact that he worked without a microscope
he was able to advance greatly the understanding of the human body. He was the first to introduce the notion of tissues
as distinct entities. He maintained that diseases attacked tissues rather than whole organs
.
, was Bichat's first instructor. He entered the college of Nantua
, and later studied at Lyon
. He made rapid progress in mathematics
and the physical sciences, but ultimately devoted himself to the study of anatomy
and surgery
under the guidance of M. A. Petit (1766–1811), chief surgeon to the Hotel-Dieu at Lyon.
The revolutionary
disturbances compelled him to flee from Lyon and take refuge in Paris
in 1793. There he became a pupil of P. J. Desault, who was so impressed with his genius that he took him into his house and treated him as his adopted son. For two years he took active part in Desault's work, at the same time pursuing his own research in anatomy and physiology.
and her son, and by completing the fourth volume of Desault's Journal de Chirurgie to which he added a biographical
memoir
of its author.
His next objective was to reunite and digest in one body the surgical doctrines which Desault had published in various periodical works. Of these he composed, Œuvres chirurgicales de Desault, ou tableau de sa doctrine, et de sa pratique dens le traitement des maladies externes (1798–1799), a work in which, although he professes only to set forth the ideas of another, he develops them with the clearness of one who is a master of the subject. In 1797 be began a course of anatomical demonstrations, and his success encouraged him to extend the plan of his lectures, and boldly to announce a course of operative surgery
.
In the following year, 1798, he gave in addition a separate course of physiology. A dangerous attack of haemoptysis interrupted his labors for a time; but the danger was no sooner past than he plunged into new engagements with the same ardour as before. He had now scope in his physiological lectures for a fuller exposition of his original views on the animal economy, which excited much attention in the medical schools at Paris.
Sketches of these doctrines were given by him in three papers contained in the Memoirs of the Société Médicale d'Émulation, which he founded in 1796, and they were afterwards more fully developed in his Traité sur les membranes (1800). His next publication was the Recherches physiologiques sur la vie et la mort (1800), and it was quickly followed by his Anatomie générale (1801), the work which contains the fruits of his most profound and original researches. He began another work, under the title Anatomic descriptive (1801–1803), in which the organs were arranged according to his peculiar classification of their functions, but lived to publish only the first two volumes.
.
Bichat's career is enthusiastically recounted in George Eliot
's 1872 novel, Middlemarch
. His name is also one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower
.
Marie François Xavier Bichat's works digitized by the BIUM (Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine et d'odontologie, Paris), see its digital library Medic@.
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...
anatomist and physiologist, was born at Thoirette
Thoirette
Thoirette is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France.- Demographics :As of the census of 1999, the population was 543.The estimate for 2005 was 617.- References :*...
(Jura).
Bichat is best remembered as the father of modern histology
Histology
Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...
and pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
. Despite the fact that he worked without a microscope
Microscope
A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...
he was able to advance greatly the understanding of the human body. He was the first to introduce the notion of tissues
Tissue (biology)
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
as distinct entities. He maintained that diseases attacked tissues rather than whole organs
Organ (anatomy)
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...
.
Early life
His father, a physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, was Bichat's first instructor. He entered the college of Nantua
Nantua
Nantua is a commune and subprefecture in the Ain department in eastern France.-History:The town grew up around a Benedictine Monastery founded in 671 by St...
, and later studied at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. He made rapid progress in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and the physical sciences, but ultimately devoted himself to the study 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...
and 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...
under the guidance of M. A. Petit (1766–1811), chief surgeon to the Hotel-Dieu at Lyon.
The revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
disturbances compelled him to flee from Lyon and take refuge in 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...
in 1793. There he became a pupil of P. J. Desault, who was so impressed with his genius that he took him into his house and treated him as his adopted son. For two years he took active part in Desault's work, at the same time pursuing his own research in anatomy and physiology.
Major publications
The sudden death of Desault in 1795 was a severe blow to Bichat. His first task was to discharge the obligations he owed his benefactor, by contributing to the support of his widowWidow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
and her son, and by completing the fourth volume of Desault's Journal de Chirurgie to which he added a biographical
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
of its author.
His next objective was to reunite and digest in one body the surgical doctrines which Desault had published in various periodical works. Of these he composed, Œuvres chirurgicales de Desault, ou tableau de sa doctrine, et de sa pratique dens le traitement des maladies externes (1798–1799), a work in which, although he professes only to set forth the ideas of another, he develops them with the clearness of one who is a master of the subject. In 1797 be began a course of anatomical demonstrations, and his success encouraged him to extend the plan of his lectures, and boldly to announce a course of operative 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...
.
In the following year, 1798, he gave in addition a separate course of physiology. A dangerous attack of haemoptysis interrupted his labors for a time; but the danger was no sooner past than he plunged into new engagements with the same ardour as before. He had now scope in his physiological lectures for a fuller exposition of his original views on the animal economy, which excited much attention in the medical schools at Paris.
Sketches of these doctrines were given by him in three papers contained in the Memoirs of the Société Médicale d'Émulation, which he founded in 1796, and they were afterwards more fully developed in his Traité sur les membranes (1800). His next publication was the Recherches physiologiques sur la vie et la mort (1800), and it was quickly followed by his Anatomie générale (1801), the work which contains the fruits of his most profound and original researches. He began another work, under the title Anatomic descriptive (1801–1803), in which the organs were arranged according to his peculiar classification of their functions, but lived to publish only the first two volumes.
Death
Bichat died at the age of 31 from a fever following an unexplained fall down a set of stairs. He is buried at Père Lachaise CemeteryPère Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.
Memorials
A large bronze statue of Bichat, work of the famous sculptor David D'Angers, was erected in 1857 in the main courtyard (“Cour d’honneur”) of the “René Descartes University” in 12, rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, Paris, thanks to the support of the members of the Medical Congress of France, which took place in 1845. On the pedestal can be read the following inscription: A Xavier Bichat. Le Congrès Médical de France de 1845.Bichat's career is enthusiastically recounted in George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's 1872 novel, Middlemarch
Middlemarch
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...
. His name is also one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower
The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower
On the Eiffel Tower, seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and some other notable people are engraved in recognition of their contributions. This is according to the design by Gustave Eiffel. The engravings are found on the sides of the tower under the first balcony...
.
External links
- Some places and memories related to Xavier Bichat
- Physiological researches upon life and death by Xavier Bichat (1809)
Marie François Xavier Bichat's works digitized by the BIUM (Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine et d'odontologie, Paris), see its digital library Medic@.