THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY OF BROCA'S APHASIA

Broca's aphasia is a type of aphasia named after the French surgeon Broca. Broca's aphasic patients experienced difficulty in speaking, but they could understand both spoken and written language. There were three essential patients in the historical development of the study of Broca's aphasia. Louis Victor Leborgne (1809–1861) was also known as Monsieur Leborgne or 'Tan' as he could only utter the syllable 'Tan' throughout his 21 years of illness. The second patient was called Lazare Lelong. His language ability was slightly better than Leborgne. He could utter simple syllables, such as oui (yes), non (no), and this (trois or three). The third patient was Gage, a railway company worker. Broca studied similar cases in the following years and planned a brain function localization theory.

MARIE FRANÇOIS XAVIER BICHAT (1771-1802)

The article tells about the great French surgeon, anatomist and physiologist Marie-François Xavier Bichat, the founder of science about tissues – histology, discoverer in an anatomy and creator of such medical disciplines, as a thanatology (science about death) and pathoanatomy. The most essential moments and facts from biography of scientist are described, his basic scientific insights are briefly expounded. Main scientific works and publications, and also described by Bichat anatomic structures and formations are enumerated. His name is carried on by several eponyms in anatomy fossa (pterygopalatine fossa), Bichat’s protuberance (buccal fat pad), Bichat’s foramen (cistern of the vena magna of Galen), Bichat’s ligament (lower fasciculus of the posterior sacroiliac ligament), Bichat’s fissure (transverse fissure of the brain) and Bichat’s tunic (tunica intima vasorum). The substantive provisions of the scientific conceptions offered to them in morphology and pathoanatomy are expounded. The critical importance of scientific works and discoveries of Marie-François Xavier Bichat for modern science and practical medicine is emphasized

Morel-Lavallee Syndrome: A Rare Tumefactive Lesion

First described by the French surgeon Maurice Morel-Lavallee in 1853, Morel-Lavallee syndrome (MLS) is a serolymphatic effusion resulting from tangential injury to richly vascularized tissues. The imaging characteristics may be variable over time due to lesion progression and the eventual organization of a fibrous capsule. We report a case of extensive MLS in the lower leg of a 12-year-old child. We discuss the ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging findings and describe the differential diagnoses.

Trans* Plasticity and the Ontology of Race and Species

During the 1920s, French surgeon Serge Voronoff became an international sensation for his technique of grafting chimpanzee testicular matter into human testicles. Félicien Champsaur’s 1929 popular speculative fiction novel, Nora, la guenon devenue femme (Nora, the Ape-Woman), imagines the possibilities of human-ape ontological and erotic proximity suggested by Voronoff’s practice of gland xenotransplantation, or transspecies transplantation. This article puts Nora and the early twentiethcentury science of ductless glands (ovaries, testicles, thyroid, thalamus, etc.) into conversation with trans* new materialist science studies around their shared investment in plasticity. In so doing, it contributes to the burgeoning inquiry into transsex, tranimal, and transspecies plasticity— which the author terms, jointly, trans* plasticity—while interrogating the affirmative and even utopian valance of such inquiry. Trans* plasticity describes the capacity of organic matter to transform itself in ways that transgress ontological divides among sex, race, and species. Building on Eva Hayward and Che Gossett’s claim that “the Human/Animal divide is a racial and colonial divide,” this article zeroes in on the historical process by which race and animality were produced in relation to each other. Ultimately, the author argues that gland xenotransplantation was a use of trans* plasticity that generated rather than troubled the ontobiological concepts of sexual, racial, and species difference.

Professor Georges Marion – outstanding french surgeon and urologist (on the 150th anniversary of the birth)

The article is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Professor Georges Marion, an outstanding French surgeon and urologist. The main stages of his clinical and scientific activities are presented. G. Marion is the author of more than 300 scientific papers, including the fundamental guide to urology. He made a great contribution to the development of the surgical field in urology. G. Marion first performed many operations, subsequently named after him, and the hypertrophy of the bladder neck described by him was called Marions disease.

Strasbourg, Heidelberg, and New Orleans: 1935–1942

DeBakey travels to Europe for a year to study and train with the famed French surgeon Rene Leriche and his German counterpart Martin Kirschner. DeBakey becomes a trusted assistant to Leriche. In Germany, he admires the disciplined surgery teams, and their efficiency influences DeBakey’s later development of his own surgical program. He joins the faculty at Tulane, and he and Ochsner compose ground-breaking papers on abdominal infections and, especially, the link between smoking and lung cancer. After Pearl Harbor, Tulane mobilizes its medical staff as a General Hospital. DeBakey is, however, deemed “essential” and can neither enlist or be drafted.

Jules Pean (1830-1898)—A Pioneer Surgeon: His Achievements and His Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

The purpose of this study is to summarize the life and work of the French surgeon Jules Pean (1830-1898). Pean made an impact in the history of surgery through his work and especially with his innovative surgical techniques in abdominal surgery and in orthopedics as well as with the invention of numerous surgical instruments. He also made an impact with his pioneering total shoulder arthroplasty.