Auguste François Chomel (13 April 1788 in Paris – 9 April 1858 in

Morsang-sur-Orge Morsang-sur-Orge (, literally ''Morsang on Orge'') is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Morsang-sur-Orge are known as ''Mor ...

) was a French

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

Biography

He was a professor at the Hôpital de la Charité in Paris, and in 1827 succeeded René Laennec (1781–1826) as chair of clinical medicine of the Faculté de Paris. In 1852 he declined swearing allegiance to

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, and thus was deemed having resigned his post. Chomel was an important member of the pathological anatomy movement of early 19th century France that was based on the scientific research of Xavier Bichat (1771–1802), René Laënnec and

Gaspard Laurent Bayle Gaspard Laurent Bayle (18 August 1774, Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence – 1816) was a French physician. He studied medicine under Jean-Nicolas Corvisart (1755–1821), and was a colleague to René Laennec (1781–1826). Beginning in 1805 he p ...

(1774–1816). In 1828 he provided the first description of a type of acute

polyneuritis Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, is a general term describing disease affecting the peripheral nerves, meaning nerves beyond the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland, or or ...

that would later be known as Guillain–Barré–Strohl syndrome.

Worthington Hooker Worthington Hooker (March 3, 1806 – November 6, 1867) was an American physician, born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Worthington Hooker School in New Haven, Connecticut is named after him. He graduated Yale University in 1825 and Harvard Unive ...

(1806–1867), in his 1847 book ''Physician and Patient'', gives Chomel credit for the first contemporary usage of the medical axiom, ''

Primum non nocere ' () is a Latin phrase that means "first, do no harm". The phrase is sometimes recorded as '. Non-maleficence, which is derived from the maxim, is one of the principal precepts of bioethics that all students in healthcare are taught in school a ...

'' ("First, do no harm").

Works

Selection

* ''Éléments de pathologie générale'' (Elements of general pathology); numerous editions: 1817, 1840; on line
4th ed., 1866
*
Des fièvres et des maladies pestilentielles
' (Fevers and pestilential diseases), 1821. *
Des dyspepsies
' (On dyspepsias), 1856. at Gallica *
Leçons de clinique
' (Clinical lessons), 1834–1840. at Gallica

List of online works

Online works
on Gallica

References

''Guillain–Barré–Strohl syndrome''
@ Who Named It

External links

* French pathologists 19th-century French physicians 1788 births 1858 deaths 19th-century French writers French medical writers French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male writers {{France-med-bio-stub