Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.

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A Moment in History

Jean-Louis Petit

Jean Louis Petit
(1674 – 1750)

French surgeon and anatomist, Jean Louis Petit was born in Paris in on March 13, 1674.  His family rented an apartment at his house to Alexis Littre (1658 – 1726), a French anatomist. Petit became an apprentice of Littre at seven years of age, helping him in the dissections for his lectures and at an early age became the assistant in charge of the anatomic amphitheater.

Because of Petit’s dedication to anatomy and medicine, in 1690 at the age of sixteen, became a disciple of a famous Paris surgeon, Castel.

In 1692, Petit entered the French army and performed surgery in two military campaigns. By 1693 he started delivering lectures and was accepted as a great surgeon, being invited to the most difficult operations.  In 1700 he was appointed Chief Surgeon of the Military School in Paris and in the same year he received the degree of Master of Surgery from the Faculty of Paris.

In 1715 he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and an honorary member of the Royal Society of London. He was appointed by the King as the first Director General of the Royal Academy of Surgery when it was founded in 1731.

Petit’s written works are of historical importance.  “Traite des Maladies des Os” ( A Treatise on Bone Diseases);  “Traite des Maladies Chirurgicales et des Operation” (A Treatise on Surgical Diseases and their Operations” This last book was published posthumously in 1774. He also published a monograph on hemorrhage, another on lachrymal fistula, and others.

He was one of the first to perform choIecystotomy and mastoidotomy. His original tourniquet design for amputations saved many in the battlefield and the design of the same surgical instrument today has not changed much since its invention by him.

His name is remembered in the lumbar triangle, also called the "triangle of Petit", and the abdominal hernia that can ensue through that area of weakness, the lumbar hernia or "Petit's hernia".

Sources:
1. “Jean Louis Petit – A Sketch of his Life, Character, and Writings” Hayne, AP San Fran Western Lancet 1875 4: 446-454
2. “Oeuvres compl?tes de Jean-Louis Petit” 1837 Imprimerie de F. Chapoulaud
3. Extraits de l'eloge de Jean-Louis Petit Ius dans Ia seance publique de I' Academie royale de chirurgie du 26 mai 1750” Louis A. Chirurgie 2001: 126 : 475- 81

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Edward Jenner

Published: Monday, July 28, 2014 07:00 | Written by: Efrain A. Miranda, Ph.D. | Hits: 6789

This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.

Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner (1749 - 1823). English physician and surgeon, Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. His training included a seven year apprenticeship to a surgeon. He then moved to London where he completed his training at the St. George’s Hospital with John Hunter. Jenner became Hunter’s assistant for anatomical dissection and research. After finishing his studies, he returned to Berkeley.

During Jenner’s time smallpox was a disease with high mortality and terrible complications that could leave a patient blind or scarred for life. Of most interest to him was local lore that related that farmers and milkmaids that contracted cowpox could not contract smallpox, even when in direct exposure to smallpox. Cowpox is a viral infection of cows causing only minor discomfort and complications when acquired by a human. 

In 1796 Jenner was visited by Sarah Nelmes, a patient with smallpox-like signs on her hands. Jenner diagnosed cowpox instead of smallpox and discovered that she was a milkmaid. Sensing the need for additional research, he inoculated a young boy by scratching the boy’s skin and then rubbing some of the material exuding from Sarah’s pustules. The boy developed cowpox.

A month and a half later Jenner exposed the boy to smallpox. The boy did not develop any signs or symptoms of smallpox. The new era of vaccination had started.

In spite of his success, the spread of this new technique was slow and not easy, with many detractor and critics. In the end, Jenner was honored for his discovery. In 1980 the World Health Organization formally declared the erradication of smallpox from the world. Individuals are not vaccinated against smallpox anymore and only a few samples of the virus exist in restricted laboratories in the world.

In the pages of “Medical Terminology Daily” we explain why the process is called “vaccination” and also the role that Jenner’s discovery had in the “Royal Philanthropic Vaccination Expedition” to the New World.

Sources:  
1. “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination” Riedel, S Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). Jan 2005; 18(1): 21–25
2. “Edward Jenner and the eradication of smallpox” Willis NJ Scott Med J. 1997 Aug; 42(4):118-21.
3. "Smallpox; A Great and Terrible Scourge" U.S National Library of Medicine"
Image in the Public Domain. Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Digital Collections.