Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert (2 May 1768 – 4 November 1837) 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 medica ...

born in

Villefranche-de-Rouergue Villefranche-de-Rouergue (; oc, Vilafranca de Roergue ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Villefranche-de-Rouergue station has rail connections to Toulouse, Figeac and Aurillac. History At the end of the Albigens ...

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants ...

. He was a pioneer of dermatology.

Life and work

Originally planning to enter the priesthood, Alibert did not begin studying medicine until he was 26 years old. As a medical student in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, he studied with renowned physicians that included

Pierre-Joseph Desault Pierre-Joseph Desault (6 February 1738 – 1 June 1795) was a French anatomist and surgeon. Biography Pierre-Joseph Desault was born in Vouhenans, Franche-Comté. He was destined for a career in the Church, but his own inclination was towards the ...

(1744–1795),

Jean-Nicolas Corvisart Jean-Nicolas Corvisart-Desmarets (15 February 1755 – 18 September 1821) was a French physician. Born in the village of Dricourt (now in Ardennes), Corvisart studied from 1777 at the Ecole de Médecine in Paris, later qualifying as ''docte ...

(1755-1821),

Xavier Bichat Marie François Xavier Bichat (; ; 14 November 1771 – 22 July 1802) was a French anatomist and pathologist, known as the father of modern histology. Although he worked without a microscope, Bichat distinguished 21 types of elementary tissues ...

(1771–1802) and

Philippe Pinel Philippe Pinel (; 20 April 1745 – 25 October 1826) was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of ps ...

(1745–1826). In 1801 he was appointed to the

Hôpital Saint-Louis Hôpital Saint-Louis is a hospital in Paris, France. It was built in 1611 by architect Claude Vellefaux at the request of Henry IV of France. It is part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris hospital system, and it is located at 1 avenue ...

(then known as the ), where he administered to patients with skin disorders, syphilis and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. Following the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of the French monarchy, Alibert became a personal physician to

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. Later he was a personal physician to

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

, and was awarded with the title of " baron". Being that there was no chair of dermatology in Paris, Alibert was appointed professor of materia medica and

therapeutics A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

in 1823. Alibert believed that when diagnosing skin disorders several criteria needed to be used, and attempted to introduce a classification system for diseases that was similar to the method

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu used in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. Alibert first classified dermatological disorders according to outer appearance, then he divided them into what he called families, genera and species. This system of classification was represented pictorially by Alibert as the "Tree of Dermatoses". Reportedly, from his "tree", Alibert wished to introduce a method rather than a classification system. Alibert was a prodigious writer, his best known work being the beautifully illustrated . His literary work also included biographies of famed scientists such as

Lazzaro Spallanzani Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...

(1729-1799) and Luigi Galvani (1737-1798). In 1806, he was the first to describe a patient with

mycosis fungoides Mycosis fungoides, also known as Alibert-Bazin syndrome or granuloma fungoides, is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. It generally affects the skin, but may progress internally over time. Symptoms include rash, tumors, skin lesion ...

. The disease was formerly referred to as "Alibert-Bazin syndrome", named in conjunction with dermatologist

Pierre-Antoine-Ernest Bazin Pierre-Antoine-Ernest Bazin (20 February 1807 – 14 December 1878) was a French physician and dermatologist born in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt. His brother, Antoine-Pierre-Louis Bazin (1799-1863), was a noted Sinologist. In 1828 he started work as ...

(1807-1878).Alibert-Bazin syndrome
@

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 bibliograp ...

In 1818, he was the first to describe a patient with

psoriatic arthritis Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term inflammatory arthritis that occurs in people affected by the autoimmune disease psoriasis. The classic feature of psoriatic arthritis is swelling of entire fingers and toes with a sausage-like appearance. Th ...

Selected bibliography

* ''Dissertation sur les fièvres pernicieuses ou ataxiques intermittentes'', Doctoral thesis (1799). * * *

References

External links

''Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert''
@

, including bibliography of written works.
French Society for the History of Dermatology
"Paris choosing a dermatological hero for the millennium" by Daniel Wallach

''Portraites de Medecins'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alibert, Jean-Louis-Marc 1768 births 1837 deaths People from Villefranche-de-Rouergue French dermatologists Officiers of the Légion d'honneur

Life and work

See also

Selected bibliography

References

External links