Paul Jules Tillaux (8 December 1834 – 20 October 1904) was a French physician who was a native of

Aunay-sur-Odon Aunay-sur-Odon (, literally ''Aunay on Odon'') is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Les Monts d'Aunay. The inhabitants of the commune ...

, département

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

. Tillaux was a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and professor of surgery in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and in 1879 became 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 ...

''. He was director of the Amphitheatre d'Anatomie des Hopitaux de Paris from 1868 to 1890. In 1892 Tillaux was the first physician to describe an uncommon Salter Harris Type III fracture 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 ...

. He performed experiments on

cadaver A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

s and discovered that stress to the

anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

could lead to this type of

avulsion fracture An avulsion fracture is a bone fracture which occurs when a fragment of bone tears away from the main mass of bone as a result of physical trauma. This can occur at the ligament by the application of forces external to the body (such as a fall ...

. This fracture is unique because it occurs during a certain period of

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

, when there is a differential rate of growth of the

epiphysis The epiphysis () is the rounded end of a long bone, at its joint with adjacent bone(s). Between the epiphysis and diaphysis (the long midsection of the long bone) lies the metaphysis, including the epiphyseal plate (growth plate). At the join ...

. In honor of his discovery, a fracture of the anteriolateral tibial epiphysis is now called a Tillaux fracture — often misdiagnosed as a simple sprain. A similar fracture to the posterolateral tibia was later identified by surgeon Henri Chaput, thus being referred to as a Tillaux-Chaput fracture.Tillaux' fracture
at Who Named It

Additional eponyms

* "Tillaux' apparatus": A device used to reduce and maintain femoral

diaphysis The diaphysis is the main or midsection (shaft) of a long bone. It is made up of cortical bone and usually contains bone marrow and adipose tissue (fat). It is a middle tubular part composed of compact bone which surrounds a central marrow cavit ...

fractures in constant steady extension. * "Tillaux' manoeuvre": Procedure for demonstrating the presence of a breast tumour adhering to the

pectoralis major The pectoralis major () is a thick, fan-shaped or triangular convergent muscle, situated at the chest of the human body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast. Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor, a ...

muscle. * "Tillaux' sign": The presence of a resonant area between the

pubic bone In vertebrates, the pubic region ( la, pubis) is the most forward-facing (ventral and anterior) of the three main regions making up the coxal bone. The left and right pubic regions are each made up of three sections, a superior ramus, inferior ra ...

and a tumor is an indication of a

mesenteric The mesentery is an organ that attaches the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall in humans and is formed by the double fold of peritoneum. It helps in storing fat and allowing blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves to supply the intestines ...

tumor. * "Tillaux' spiral": An imaginary line connecting the insertions of the eye's

recti muscles The extraocular muscles (extrinsic ocular muscles), are the seven extrinsic muscles of the human eye. Six of the extraocular muscles, the four recti muscles, and the superior oblique muscle, superior and inferior oblique muscles, control Eye move ...

Selected writings

* ''De l'urétrotomie'' (1863). * ''Traité d'anatomie topographique avec applications à la chirurgie''; 2 volumes 1875–77).

References

''Paul Jules Tillaux''
@

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 ...

1834 births 1904 deaths People from Les Monts d'Aunay French surgeons Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-med-bio-stub