Gustave-Édouard Laguesse (23 April 1861 – 6 November 1927) was a French

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and histologist born in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. In 1885 he received his medical doctorate in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and from 1891 performed scientific research in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. In 1896 he became a professor of histology. Laguesse is remembered for his

histopathological Histopathology (compound of three Greek language, Greek words: 'tissue', 'suffering', and ''-logy, -logia'' 'study of') is the light microscope, microscopic examination of Tissue (biology), tissue in order to study the manifestations of dis ...

work involving the

pancreas The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the Digestion, digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a ...

. In 1893 he named the small cellular clusters of the pancreas the "

Islets of Langerhans The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% o ...

", in honor of their discoverer

Paul Langerhans Paul Langerhans (25 July 1847 – 20 July 1888) was a German pathologist, physiologist and biologist, credited with the discovery of the cells that secrete insulin, named after him as the islets of Langerhans. Eponymous terms * Islets of Langerh ...

(1847-1888). At the time of its discovery, Langerhans provided an excellent description of the structures, but offered no further conclusions as to their function.Langerhans, Paul
@ NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie Laguesse postulated that the Islets of Langerhans produced secretions that played a regulatory role in

digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food compounds into small water-soluble components so that they can be absorbed into the blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intestine into th ...

. Laguesse's research was considered a major step on the path of discovery of a new

hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...

in the early days of

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

Written works

* ''Le grain de sécrétion interne dans le pancréas'' (1899) * ''Sur la variabilité du tissu endocrine dans la pancréas'' (1899) * ''Substance amorphe et lamelles du tissu conjonctif lâche'' (1904)

References

Biography of Édouard Laguesse

Open Library
(list of publications) French pathologists 1861 births 1927 deaths Physicians from Dijon French histologists {{france-med-bio-stub