Pierre Demours (1702 – June 26, 1795) was a French physician, zoologist and translator.

Biography

Demours was born in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

; his father was a pharmacist. He is not to be confused with his son, Antoine-Pierre Demours (1762–1836), also a renowned eye specialist and author. He studied medicine in Avignon then Paris. He became a doctor in Avignon then went back to Paris for further study. Duverney chose him as his assistant. At Duverney's death (1730) Pierre Chirac chose Demours to succeed him as demonstrator at the Jardin du Roy. He lost that position at Chirac's death two years later. He then thought of returning to Avignon but Antoine Petit made him his collaborator. Upon advice from Petit he specialized in the

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and diseases of the eye and became a successful

oculist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

. He described the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. ...

that is situated between the corneal "proper substance" and the

endothelial The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel ...

layer of the

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...

. He had a

priority dispute In science, priority is the credit given to the individual or group of individuals who first made the discovery or propose the theory. Fame and honours usually go to the first person or group to publish a new finding, even if several researchers arr ...

over this with Jean Descemet (1732–1810). The structure which is now generally known as the membrane of Descemet is nevertheless still sometimes referred to as the membrane of Demours or ''Tunica Demoursii''. His description of the reproduction of the

common midwife toad The common midwife toad (''Alytes obstetricans'') is a species of midwife frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is found in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United ...

(''Alytes obstetricans'') was met with disbelief and only received credit when reactivated by Arthur de l'Isle du Dréneuf in 1872. Demours was a very active translator from English to French. His translations included medical essays of the Philosophical Society of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and a few volumes of the ''

Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

''.

Stephen Hales Stephen Hales (17 September 16774 January 1761) was an English clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields including botany, pneumatic chemistry and physiology. He was the first person to measure blood pressure. He al ...

' book about ventilation, which is credited for a spectacular decrease of mortality in prisons and ships, was also made available in French by Demours. He died in Paris in 1795.

Selected works

As an author

* ''Observations concernant l'histoire naturelle, et les maladies des yeux'' (1740) * "Observations sur le crapaud mâle accoucheur de la femelle". ''Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences'' (1741), hist. 28. The reproduction of the

. * ''Sur la structure cellulaire du corps vitré'' (1741) * ''Observations sur la cornée'' (1741)

As an editor

* ''Table générale des matières contenues dans l'histoire et les mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences'' (1747). Numerous volumes.

As a translator

* ''Essais et observations de medecine de la Société d'Edinbourg: ouvrage traduit de l'Anglois, & augmenté par le traducteur d'observations concernant l'histoire naturelle, & les maladies des yeux'' (1740–1747) * E. Hales.
Description du ventilateur …
' (1744) * Henry Baker. ''Essai sur l'histoire naturelle du polype, insecte'' (1744) * John Ranby. ''Méthode de traiter les plaies d'armes à feu par M. J. Ranby, premier chirurgien du Roy d'Angleterre…'' (1745)Record
on SUDOC. * ''Transactions philosophiques de la Société Royale de Londres. Années 1737 à 1746'' (1759–1761)

References

* Dezeimeris, Jean-Eugène,
Demours (Pierre)
. ''Dictionnaire historique de la médecine ancienne et moderne'' * Nicolas Éloy,
Demours, (Pierre)
. ''Dictionnaire historique de la médecine ancienne et moderne'', , * Feller, François Xavier de.
Démours (Pierre)
. ''Biographie universelle'' Volume: 3-4, * Turner, Anthony.
An interrupted story: French translations from Philosophical Transactions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
' (O
Notes and records of the Royal Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demours, Pierre French surgeons 1702 births 18th-century French physicians 1795 deaths Translators from English French translators 18th-century French zoologists Physicians from Marseille French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French translators