Luc Perino (born in 1947 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, France), is a French

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, essayist, and a novelist. He is known for his promotion of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and

clinical medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

and of

Darwinian medicine Evolutionary medicine or Darwinian medicine is the application of modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease. Modern biomedical research and practice have focused on the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying heal ...

. Perino first practised in rural areas of France. He then went to

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

where he practised tropical medicine . He later lived in

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

for two years. In 1990, Perino resumed his practice in France and then started to teach clinical medicine and Human and Social Sciences at the University of Lyon, highlighting his classes with his broad experience. Perino plays the medical doctor in the movie ''The Consultation'' shot in 2007 by Hélène de Crecy, a one-hour and half documentary taking place behind closed doors in the office of a general practitioner.

Books

Perino is the author of several essays and novels the main topics of which are medicine and biology, anthropology and the history of science: *''Les nouveaux paradoxes de la médecine'' (new paradox of medicine), 2012 *''A quoi sert vraiment un médecin?'' (What good is a doctor?), 2011 *''Une brève histoire du médicament'' (A short story of drugs), 2009. An essay about drugs and their history, ranging from the remote times of Homo Sapiens, when they resorted to magic and the divine to the new scientific market dominated by the invading and intrusive drug industry which influences the medical thinking and everyone's behavior. *''Darwin viendra-t-il'' (Will Darwin Come?), 2008. The setting is

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on Saturday 30 June 1860, a few months after the astonishing publication of Charles Darwin's « On the Origin of Species ». The British Science Association has set up a debate between the representatives of the Anglican Church and the Science Academy, both hostile to the natural selection theory promoted by Darwin. The author takes advantage of this debate to draw a gallery of portraits of Victorian scientists, religious and public figures. *''Humeurs médicales'' (Medical humour), 2006 *''La sagesse du médecin'' (The Physician's Wisdom), 2004. The practice of a medical doctor can be seen as an iniatory journey and a way to discover oneself and the world. Each case leaves the physician pondering over life and Perino shows through many examples how simple questions has led him to thinking far from what he had been taught at the Medical school. *''Carnets de santé'' (Medical Record), 2004 *''Le Bobologue'', 2001. A

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

which could be translated as « Physician of scratches, sores and pains ». Today the healing roles of a physician are multiple : psychiatrist, confessor, healer of many sores and wounds. In the end, the author is inclined to think that after 10.000 years a clinical physician is for his patients a shaman or a wizard.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perino, Luc 1947 births Living people French medical writers Physicians from Toulon French general practitioners French male non-fiction writers Writers from Toulon