Pierre Augustin Béclard
Encyclopedia
Pierre Augustin Béclard (October 12, 1785 – March 16, 1825) was a French anatomist who was a native of Angers
. He was the father of physiologist Jules-Auguste Béclard
.
He was a professor of anatomy in Paris
and chief surgeon at the Pitié Hospital, and in 1818 he was appointed to the chair of anatomy. He was considered a brilliant lecturer. With Jules Germain Cloquet
(1790–1883) he translated William Lawrence's (1783–1867) "A Treatise on Ruptures" (Traité des hernies) from English into French.
Pierre Béclard is credited with introducing new amputative
and surgical
practices, and in 1823 was the first physician in Europe to perform a successful excision of the parotid gland
. His name is lent to the eponymous "Béclard's nucleus", which is the core of ossification
in the cartilage
of the distal epiphysis
of the femur
during the latter part of fetal life. It is used in forensic medicine to determine the age of a fetus
or newborn infant.
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
. He was the father of physiologist Jules-Auguste Béclard
Jules-Auguste Béclard
Jules-Auguste Béclard was a French physiologist born in Paris. He was the son of anatomist Pierre Augustin Béclard ....
.
He was a professor of anatomy 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...
and chief surgeon at the Pitié Hospital, and in 1818 he was appointed to the chair of anatomy. He was considered a brilliant lecturer. With Jules Germain Cloquet
Jules Germain Cloquet
Jules Germain Cloquet was a French physician and surgeon who was born and practiced medicine in Paris. His older brother, Hippolyte Cloquet , was also a physician...
(1790–1883) he translated William Lawrence's (1783–1867) "A Treatise on Ruptures" (Traité des hernies) from English into French.
Pierre Béclard is credited with introducing new amputative
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
and surgical
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...
practices, and in 1823 was the first physician in Europe to perform a successful excision of the parotid gland
Parotid gland
The paired parotid glands are the largest of the salivary glands. They are each found wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and secrete saliva through Stensen's ducts into the oral cavity, to facilitate mastication and swallowing and to begin the digestion of starches.-Location:The parotid glands...
. His name is lent to the eponymous "Béclard's nucleus", which is the core of ossification
Ossification
Ossification is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation...
in the cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
of the distal epiphysis
Epiphysis
The epiphysis is the rounded end of a long bone, at its joint with adjacent bone. Between the epiphysis and diaphysis lies the metaphysis, including the epiphyseal plate...
of the femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
during the latter part of fetal life. It is used in forensic medicine to determine the age of a fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
or newborn infant.
Additional eponyms
- Beclard's anastomosis: or arcus raninus; An anastomosisAnastomosisAn anastomosis is the reconnection of two streams that previously branched out, such as blood vessels or leaf veins. The term is used in medicine, biology, mycology and geology....
between the right and the left end-branch of the deep lingual arteryLingual arteryThe lingual artery arises from the external carotid between the superior thyroid and facial artery. It can be located easily in the tongue.-Path:It first runs obliquely upward and medialward to the greater cornu of the hyoid bone....
. - Béclard's hernia: A femoral herniaFemoral herniaA hernia is caused by the protrusion of a viscus through a weakness in the containing wall. This weakness may be inherent, as in the case of inguinal, femoral and umbilical hernias. On the other hand, the weakness may be caused by surgical incision through the muscles of the abdominal/thoracic wall...
through the opening of the saphenous veinSaphenous veinSaphenous vein may refer to:*Great saphenous vein*Small saphenous vein...
. - Béclard's triangle: An area whose boundaries are the posterior border of the hyoglossusHyoglossusThe Hyoglossus, thin and quadrilateral, arises from the side of the body and from the whole length of the greater cornu of the hyoid bone, and passes almost vertically upward to enter the side of the tongue, between the Styloglossus and Longitudinalis inferior....
, the posterior belly of the digastric muscleDigastric muscleThe digastric muscle is a small muscle located under the jaw. so digastric muscles are muscle fibers in ligament of treitz ,omohyoid , occipitofrontalis....
and the greater horn of the hyoid boneHyoid boneThe hyoid bone is a horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies at the level of the base of the mandible in the front and the third cervical vertebra behind.Unlike other bones, the hyoid is only distantly...
.