Jean Alfred Fournier () (21 May 1832 – 25 December 1914) was a French
dermatologist who specialized in the study of
venereal disease.
Biography
As a young man he served as an interne at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to
Philippe Ricord (1800–1889). In 1863 he became ''médecine des hôpitaux'', and from 1867 worked with
Augustin Grisolle (1811–1869) at the
Hôtel-Dieu de Paris. In 1876 he was appointed ''chef de service'' at the
Hôpital Saint-Louis, later becoming a member of the ''
Académie de Médecine
An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
'' (1880).
His main contribution to medical science was the study of
congenital syphilis, of which he provided a description of in 1883. In his numerous publications he stressed the importance of
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
being the cause of degenerative diseases. In addition, in 1901 he founded an organization devoted to spreading knowledge to combat syphilis, called the ''Société Française de Prophylaxie Sanitaire et Morale''.
His name is associated with the following three medical terms:
*
Fournier's gangrene:
gangrene
Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...
caused by infection of the
scrotum and usually associated with
diabetes. Although the condition is named after Fournier after he published a series of five cases, it was first described by a physician named Baurienne in 1764.
* Fournier's sign: scars on the mouth following the healing of lesions in congenital syphilis.
* Fournier's tibia:
fusiform
Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an aneurysm on a b ...
thickening and anterior bowing of the
tibia in congenital syphilis.
Along with his study of venereal disease, Fournier was also a
medical historian
The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...
, republishing works by erstwhile physicians that included
Girolamo Fracastoro
Girolamo Fracastoro ( la, Hieronymus Fracastorius; c. 1476/86 August 1553) was an Italian physician, poet, and scholar in mathematics, geography and astronomy. Fracastoro subscribed to the philosophy of atomism, and rejected appeals to hidden c ...
(1478–1553),
Giovanni de Vigo (1460–1525) and
Jacques de Béthencourt
Jacques de Béthencourt (fl. early 16th century) was a French physician who practiced medicine in Rouen. He is remembered for coining the term venereal disease.
As a Frenchman, Béthencourt resented the term ''Morbus Gallicus'' (French disease), ...
.
External links
''Jean Alfred Fournier''at
Who Named It?
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fournier, Jean Alfred
1832 births
1914 deaths
French dermatologists
19th-century French historians
French male non-fiction writers