Auguste Gabriel Maurice Raynaud (10 August 1834 – 29 June 1881) was the French doctor who discovered

Raynaud syndrome Raynaud syndrome, also known as Raynaud's phenomenon, eponymously named after the physician Auguste Gabriel Maurice Raynaud, who first described it in his doctoral thesis in 1862, is a medical condition in which the spasm of small arteries cau ...

, a vasospastic disorder which contracts blood vessels in extremities and is the "R" in the

CREST syndrome CREST syndrome, also known as the limited cutaneous form of systemic sclerosis (lcSSc), is a multisystem connective tissue disorder. The acronym "CREST" refers to the five main features: calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, s ...

acronym, in the late 19th century.

Life and career

Maurice Raynaud was the son of a university professor. He commenced his medical studies at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

with the help of his uncle, the well known Paris physician Ange-Gabriel-Maxime Vernois (1809–1877), and obtained his medical doctorate in 1862. He thus became one of the select few who have achieved eponymous fame with their doctoral dissertation, in his case: ''De l'asphyxie locale et de la gangrène symétrique des extrémités''. He became a holder of a ''

Doctorat ès lettres Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

'' the following year with the 48 page article " Asclepiades of Bithynia, doctor and philosopher", and the book "Medicine in

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's time". Raynaud never received a senior position at any of the Paris hospitals, but became ''Médecine des hôpitaux'' (received hospital privileges) in 1865. At various times, he was attached to the hospitals of Hôtel Dieu (1866), Laboisière (1872), and

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

(1880), among others. In 1866 he became an agrégé with the works ''Sur les hyperhémies non phlegmasiques'' and ''De la revulsion'', which established him as a professor of medical pathology. He was made an officer of the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in 1871 and elected to 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 ...

'' in 1879, and lectured with great success at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

as well as the Lariboisière and Charité hospitals. Although Raynaud always wanted to hold the chair of medical history at the University of Paris, he died on 29 June 1881, in his prime, before achieving that goal, shortly before the

International Medical Congress The International Medical Congress (french: Congrès International de Médecine) was a series of international scientific conferences on medicine that took place, periodically, from 1867 until 1913. The idea of such a congress came in 1865, dur ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

that year. By the time of his death, Raynaud had suffered for several years from

cardiac disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. At the London congress, Raynaud's paper, "Scepticism in Medicine, Past and Present", was read by one of his colleagues. He was also a busy writer. His book ''Sur la salive d'un enfant mort de la rage'' was the result of research done with

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

(1822–1895) and Odilon Marc Lannelongue (1840–1911).

Notes

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External links

* and named after {{DEFAULTSORT:Raynaud, Maurice 19th-century French physicians Physicians from Paris 1834 births 1881 deaths