Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski (; 17 November 1857 – 29 October 1932) was a French-Polish

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of neurology. He is best known for his 1896 description of the

Babinski sign The plantar reflex is a reflex elicited when the sole of the foot is stimulated with a blunt instrument. The reflex can take one of two forms. In healthy adults, the plantar reflex causes a downward response of the hallux (flexion). An upward ...

, a pathological plantar reflex indicative of

corticospinal tract The corticospinal tract is a white matter motor pathway starting at the cerebral cortex that terminates on lower motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord, controlling movements of the limbs and trunk. There are more than one million neu ...

damage.

Life

Born in Paris, Babinski was the son of a Polish military officer, Aleksander Babiński (1824–1889), and his wife Henryka Wareńska Babińska (1819–1897),Joseph Babinski
nndb.com who in 1848 fled Warsaw for Paris because of a Tsarist reign of terror instigated to stall Polish attempts at achieving independence and breaking the union between

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Babinski received his medical degree from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1884. Professor Charcot at Paris's '' Salpêtrière'' Hospital became his mentor. Charcot's 1893 death left Babinski without support, and he subsequently never participated in qualifying academic competitions. Free of teaching duties, while working at the ''Hôpital de la Pitié'' he was left with ample time to devote himself to clinical

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

. He was a masterful clinician, minimally dependent on neuropathological examinations and laboratory tests. Babinski also took an interest in the

pathogenesis In pathology, pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes . Descript ...

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

and was the first to present acceptable differential-diagnostic criteria for separating hysteria from

organic disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are asso ...

s, and coined the concept of '' pithiatism''. In 1914, Babinski introduced the important concept of ‘anosognosia’ to name a disorder characterized by denial of illness or lack of awareness of disability. In 1896, at a meeting of the ''Société de Biologie'', Babiński, in a 26-line presentation, delivered the first report on the ''"phenomène des orteils"'', i.e., that while the normal reflex of the sole of the foot is a plantar reflex of the toes, an injury to the

pyramidal tract The pyramidal tracts include both the corticobulbar tract and the corticospinal tract. These are aggregations of efferent nerve fibers from the upper motor neurons that travel from the cerebral cortex and terminate either in the brainstem (''cort ...

will show an isolated

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

flexion Motion, the process of movement, is described using specific anatomical terminology, anatomical terms. Motion includes movement of Organ (anatomy), organs, joints, Limb (anatomy), limbs, and specific sections of the body. The terminology used de ...

of the great toe—" Babinski's sign." During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Babinski had charge of many traumatic neurology cases at the Pitié Hospitals. He was professor of neurology at the

. Babinski wrote over 200 papers on nervous disorders. With Jules Froment he published ''Hysteropithiatisme en Neurologie de Guerre'' (1917), which was translated into English in 1918 by J. D. Rolleston as ''Hysteria or Pithiatism, and Reflex Nervous Disorders in the Neurology of War''. Babiński published some of his works in Polish. Babinski lived in the Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, with his elder brother, Henri Babinski, a distinguished engineer and famous food writer who, as "Ali Bab", published a classic cookbook.Rey, Alexia
"Henri Joseph Séverin Babinski (1855–1931)"
''Bulletin de l'Association des Anciens élèves de l'Ecole des mines de Paris, 1931'' With Pierre Palau, Babinski, under the pseudonym "Olaf," wrote a disturbing play, ''Les détraquées'', which premiered at the Deux-Masques theater in 1921. The play involves the murder of a young pupil at a girls' school by the school's principal and her accomplice, a dance teacher.

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

discusses the work in ''Nadja.''Jacques Philippon, Jacques Poirer ''Joseph Babinski: A Biography'' 2008, . Babinski died in the same year as two great Polish neurologists, Edward Flatau and Samuel Goldflam. In his last three years he had suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He was buried in the in the family tomb, alongside his brother, who had died a year before.Philippon and Poirier, pp. 21 and 80

Recognition

Babinski lived to see his achievements in French neurology internationally acclaimed. He was honored by Poland in 1925 as honorary professor of the

Wilno University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

, by the American Neurological Society, and by other foreign societies. He was also a patron of the three large neuro-psychiatric hospitals in Poland (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Associated eponyms

*'' Babinski's sign'': A pathological reflex where the great toe extends in presence of an injury to the pyramidal tract. *'' Anton–Babinski syndrome'': A condition characterized by denial of

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

in lesions of the

occipital lobe The occipital lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The name derives from its position at the back of the head, from the Latin , 'behind', and , 'head'. The occipital lobe is the ...

.
Named with neurologist Gabriel Anton. *''Babinski–Fröhlich syndrome'' or '' Adiposo-genital syndrome'': Condition characterized by feminine

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

and sexual infantilism in case of

pituitary tumour Pituitary adenomas are tumors that occur in the pituitary gland. Most pituitary tumors are benign, approximately 35% are invasive and just 0.1% to 0.2% are carcinomas.pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

Alfred Fröhlich Alfred Fröhlich (August 15, 1871 – March 22, 1953) was an Austrian-American pharmacologist and neurologist born in Vienna. Biography Fröhlich was born in Vienna, into a Jewish family.Joseph Meites, ''Pioneers in Neuroendocrinology'', Spr ...

. *''Babinski–Froment syndrome'': Vasomotor and trophic disorders, diffuse amyotrophy and muscle contractions subsequently to traumatic tissue damage.
Named with neurologist Jules Froment. *''Babinski–Jarkowski rule'': For localization of a medullary lesion.
Named with neurologist Jan Jarkowski. *'' Babinski–Nageotte syndrome'': Syndrome seen in unilateral bulbar lesions of the medullobulbar transitional region.
Named with neurologist

Jean Nageotte Jean Nageotte (8 February 1866 – 22 July 1948) was a French neuroanatomy, neuroanatomist born in Dijon. He obtained his medical degree in Paris in 1893, and afterwards was associated with the Hôpital Bicêtre and Salpêtrière. He succeed ...

. *''Babinski–Vaquez syndrome'':

Tabes dorsalis Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the Dorsal root ganglion, dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These pati ...

associated with cardiac and arterial pathology as late manifestation of

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

.
Named with hematologist Louis Henri Vaquez. *''Babinski–Weil test'': Test for demonstration of a laterodeviation in case of vestibular disorders.
Named with neurologist Mathieu-Pierre Weil.

Footnotes

Sources

External links