Jean Alfred Fournier () (21 May 1832 – 25 December 1914) was a French

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 ...

who specialized in the study of

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

Biography

As a young man he served as an interne at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to

Philippe Ricord Philippe Ricord (10 December 1800 – 22 October 1889) was a French physician. Biography Philippe Ricord was born on 10 December 1800 in Baltimore. His father had escaped the French Revolution in 1790 from Marseille. He met French naturalist Cha ...

(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 French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...

. In 1876 he was appointed ''chef de service'' at the

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 ...

, 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 Congenital syphilis is syphilis present ''in utero'' and at birth, and occurs when a child is born to a mother with syphilis. Untreated early syphilis infections results in a high risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, including saddle nose, lower ext ...

, 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 Fournier gangrene is a type of necrotizing fasciitis or gangrene affecting the external genitalia or perineum. It commonly occurs in older men, but it can also occur in women and children. It is more likely to occur in diabetics, alcoholics, or th ...

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 The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum cont ...

and usually associated with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. 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 The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

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? ''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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fournier, Jean Alfred 1832 births 1914 deaths French dermatologists 19th-century French historians French male non-fiction writers