Philippe Charles Ernest Gaucher () (July 26, 1854 – January 25, 1918) 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 ...

born in the department of

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Necker Hospital Necker may refer to: * Necker (surname) * ''Necker'' (ship), several ships * Neckerchief, cloth worn round the neck * Necker cube, optical illusion * Necker Island (Hawaii) * Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) * Necker–Enfants Malades Hospi ...

. During the subsequent years he was an instructor at several hospital clinics 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 ...

. He taught classes on

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

and

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

, as well as

dermatology 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 ...

. In 1902 he succeeded

Jean Alfred Fournier Jean Alfred Fournier () (21 May 1832 – 25 December 1914) was a French dermatologist who specialized in the study of venereal disease. Biography As a young man he served as an interne at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to Philippe Rico ...

(1832–1914) as the university chair of dermatology and syphilography. Gaucher was also founder of a journal on

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 ...

called ''Annales des Maladies Vénériennes''. He is remembered for providing a description of a disorder that was to become known as

Gaucher's disease Gaucher's disease or Gaucher disease () (GD) is a genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polyg ...

. In 1882 while still a student, he discovered the disease in a 32-year-old woman who had an enlarged

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

. At the time, Gaucher thought it to be a form of splenetic

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, and published his findings in his doctorate thesis, titled ''De l'epithelioma primitif de la rate, hypertrophie idiopathique de la rate sans leucemie''.Gaucher PCE. De l’épithélioma primitif de la râte: hypertrophie idiopathique de la râte sans leucémie. Thesis (Faculté de Médecine), Paris 1882 However, it was not until 1965 that the true

biochemical Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology an ...

nature of Gaucher's disease was understood.

References

Historia de la Medicina
(translated biography) 1854 births 1918 deaths French dermatologists People from Nièvre {{France-med-bio-stub