Désiré-Magloire Bourneville () (20 October 1840 – 28 May 1909) was a French

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

born in Garencières.

Career

He studied medicine in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and worked as ''interne des hôpitaux'' at the Salpêtrière, Bicêtre,

Hôpital Saint-Louis Hôpital Saint-Louis is a hospital in Paris, France. It was built in 1611 by architect Claude Vellefaux at the request of Henry IV of France. It is part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris hospital system, and it is located at 1 avenue ...

and the Pitié. During the Franco-Prussian War, he served as both a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and an assistant medical officer. From 1879 to 1905 he was a physician of

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

services at Bicêtre. In Paris, he founded a day school for special instruction of children with mental disability. In 1866, during a severe

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, he volunteered his services, and after the siege had passed, was presented with a gold watch as an expression of the city's gratitude. During the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

(1871), when revolutionaries wanted to execute their wounded enemies, Bourneville intervened and saved the prisoners' lives. He was elected to the Paris city council in 1876 and to the

French Parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...

in 1883, where he served as a deputy until 1889. In both positions he advocated reforms of the health system. As a politician, he spearheaded efforts to train professional, secular nurses to replace the religious sisters who staffed most of the nation's hospitals at the time. In 1880, he provided an early description of a multi-symptom disorder that was to become known as "Bourneville's syndrome", now known as

tuberous sclerosis Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multisystem autosomal dominant genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, liver, eyes, lungs and skin. A combination ...

. This genetic condition may lead to mental retardation,

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

, a disfiguring facial rash and benign tumors in the brain, heart,

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and other organs. The condition was also studied by the British

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

John James Pringle John James Pringle (1855 – 18 December 1922) was a Scottish dermatologist. Biography Pringle was born in Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire and educated at Merchiston Castle School. He graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1876 ...

(1855–1922), leading some historical texts to refer to it as "Bourneville-Pringle disease". Bourneville published works which stated that

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s claiming to produce

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s or

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...

, and those claiming to be

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

were actually suffering from

hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

. Bourneville was skeptical of

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

claims. Between 1882 and 1902, he published a series of volumes known as ''La Bibliothèque Diabolique'', in these he re-evaluated historical cases of possession and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

in favor for pathological explanations.

Writings

''De la sclérose en plaques disséminées''
(1869)
''Études du thermométrie clinique dans l'hémorrhagie cérébrale''
(1872)
''Science et miracle: Louise Lateau, ou la stigmatisée belge''
(1878) * ''Sclérose tubéreuse des circonvolution cérébrales: Idiotie et épilepsie hemiplégique''. Archives de neurologie, Paris, 1880, 1: 81–91. * ''Encéphalite ou sclérose tubéreuse des circonvolutions cérébrales''. Archives de neurologie, Paris, 1881, 1: 390–412.
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

M. Charcot">''Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière. Service de M. Charcot
'' (with Paul-Marie-Léon Regnard 1850–1927). three volumes, Paris 1876–1880.
''Assistance, traitement et éducation des enfants idiots et dégénérés''
Paris, 1895. * Le Sabbat des Sorciers, with E. Teinturier (1882)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourneville, Desire-Magloire 1840 births 1909 deaths People from Eure French neurologists French pediatricians French sceptics

Career

Writings

See also

References

External links