François Leuret (29 December 1797 – 5 January 1851) was a French
anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
who was a native of
Nancy.
He studied medicine under
Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol
Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (3 February 1772 – 12 December 1840) was a French psychiatrist.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Toulouse, Esquirol completed his education at Montpellier. He came to Paris in 1799 where he worked a ...
(1772–1840), and was later chief physician at the
Bicêtre 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 ...
. Two of his better known students were
Paul Broca
Pierre Paul Broca (, also , , ; 28 June 1824 – 9 July 1880) was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that is named after him. Broca's area is involve ...
(1824–1880) and
Louis Pierre Gratiolet
Louis Pierre Gratiolet (; 6 July 1815 – 16 February 1865) was a French anatomist and zoologist who was a native of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde. He succeeded Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805-1861) as professor of zoology to the Faculty ...
(1815–1865). Leuret was also chief-editor of ''Annales d’hygiène publique et de médecine légale'', an influential journal of
hygiene
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
and
forensic medicine
Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...
.
Leuret is remembered for his work in
comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species).
The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...
of the
brain
A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
with Louis Gratiolet. The two men did extensive topographic mapping of the folds and fissures of the
cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...
. Leuret coined the name "fissure of Rolando" after Italian anatomist
Luigi Rolando
Luigi Rolando (16 June 1773, Turin – 20 April 1831, Turin) was an Italian anatomist known for his pioneering research in brain localization of function.
He studied medicine in Turin, later continuing his education in Florence, where he studie ...
(1773–1831) for what is now known as the
central sulcus
In neuroanatomy, the central sulcus (also central fissure, fissure of Rolando, or Rolandic fissure, after Luigi Rolando) is a sulcus, or groove, in the cerebral cortex in the brains of vertebrates. It is sometimes confused with the longitudinal ...
of the brain.
Leuret was an important figure in the early days of French
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
. He stressed the importance of using a rational and humane approach in treatment of the mentally ill, and also believed that the criminally insane were sick individuals who were incapable of controlling their behavior. He felt that the origins of mental illness were unknown, and that it was wrong to define madness from only a somatic standpoint. Leuret's psychiatric theories put him at odds with other French physicians, particularly those who thought that the source of
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
could be localized to a specific part of the brain's anatomy. He was also scornful of the speculative theory of
phrenology
Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...
.
Selected writings
* ''Du traitement moral de la folie'', 1840
* ''Anatomie comparée du système nerveux, considéré dans ses rapports avec l'intelligence'' (volume 1- 1839, the second volume published in 1857 by Gratiolet)
See also
*
Guillaume Ferrus
References
Inheriting Madness: Professionalization and Psychiatric Knowledge in 19th Century France; Google Books
The human brain and spinal cord By Edwin Clarke and Charles Donald O'Malley
Heirs of Hippocrates
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leuret, Francois
1797 births
1851 deaths
French psychiatrists
French anatomists
Physicians from Nancy, France
19th-century French writers
French male writers
19th-century French male writers