Jean Cruveilhier

Jean Baptiste Cruveilhier ( born 9 February 1791 in Limoges, † March 10, 1874 in Sussac Limousin region ) [ ʒan Kru vā - yā '] was a French physician, anatomist and pathologist.

Life and work

His father was a surgeon and a military doctor Cruveilhier Léonard (1760-1836) and his mother, born Anne Reix ( 1771-1831 ). His mother was a devout Catholic and Jean initially intended to become a priest. But his father had decided that he should become a doctor. At age nineteen, Jean went to Paris and at the insistence of his father he became a pupil of Guillaume Dupuytren, who was a friend of his father. First, he gave his interest in theological studies not on; he joined temporarily and secretly a medal at the Saint Sulpice monastery. Influenced by Dupuytren he also developed his later interest in pathology. In 1816 he received his medical doctorate in Paris. The title of his thesis was Essai sur l' anatomie et sur ​​les pathologique en general transformations et en particulier organiques productions.

Cruveilhier returned to Limoges back, opened a medical practice and married on 14 June 1819, born Marie Gabrielle Jenny Grellet of Prades de Fleurelle ( 1801-1849 ); the couple had eight daughters and one son.

It was again his father, this time encouraged him to continue his scientific career. Cruveilhier participated in a scientific competition, concours at the Paris Faculty and won the first prize. Through the patronage of Duyputren Cruveilhier received a reputation for surgery professor at the University of Montpellier and in 1836 at the University of Paris in 1824. He took over the teaching of emeritus Pierre Augustin Beclard (1785-1825) and was professor of descriptive anatomy.

In 1836 he was elected to the Académie nationale de Médecine, whose president he became in 1839. In addition, he was above forty years President of the Société anatomique in Paris.

He published 1828-1842 the remarkable " Anatomy du corps humain ou pathologique description of the diverse altérations morbid dont le corps humain est susceptible avec figures lithographiées et coloriées ". This was not only an outstanding Atlas - Dupuytren was dedicated and had been described by Jean -Martin Charcot as admirable - but he also provided the first descriptions of multiple sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy also called Cruveilhier atrophy. But descriptions of about stomach ulcers, the pyloric stenosis, diverticula of the colon, phlebitis, etc. can be found in this comprehensive work. In summary, this fundamental work say that it is the most comprehensive presentation of observations but especially descriptions macroscopically pathological- anatomical findings of his time. The microscopic pathology, however, has found in his school still no input.

In 1834, sat Duypuytren a testament to and awarded in the event of his death, 200,000 francs for the construction of a new chair of pathological anatomy and the development of a museum ( Musée Dupuytren ) which he gave to his extensive slide collection. The owner of this chair was his friend and protégé, the pathologist and anatomist Jean Cruveilhier.

After Cruveilhier named structures (selection)

• Cervical plexus posterior Cruveilhier
• Ulcus simplex Cruveilhier
• Pegot - Cruveilhier -Baumgarten disease

Works (selection)

• Anatomy descriptive. Paris 1834-1836, 4 volumes par Marc Sée Cruveilhier et fils, 1877.
• Anatomy du corps humain pathologique. Paris 1828-1842, 200 planches Gravees par Antoine Chazal ( 1793-1854 ) d'après ses dessins
• Cours d' études anatomiques. Paris 1830.
• La vie de Dupuytren. Bechet et Labé, Paris 1841.
• Traité d' anatomie générale pathologique. Paris, 1849-1864, 5 volumes en texte intégral sur Gallica.bnf.fr.