Antoine Louis
Encyclopedia
Antoine Louis was a French surgeon
and physiologist who was born in Metz
.
He was originally trained in medicine by his father, a surgeon-major at a local military hospital. As a young man he moved to Paris
, where he served as gagnant-maîtrise at the Salpêtrière. In 1750 he was appointed professor of physiology, a position he maintained for forty years. In 1764 he was appointed lifetime secretary to the Académie Royale de Chirurgie
.
Louis published numerous articles on surgery, including several biographies
of surgeons who died during his lifetime. He also published the surgical aphorism
s of Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave (1668–1738).
Louis is credited with designing a prototype of the guillotine
. This device however, is named after French physician Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who was an advocate of a more humane method of capital punishment
. For a period of time after its invention, the guillotine was called a louisette.
Another name for the sternal angle
is the "angle of Louis", which is the point of junction between the manubrium
and the body of the sternum.
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
and physiologist who was born in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
.
He was originally trained in medicine by his father, a surgeon-major at a local military hospital. As a young man he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he served as gagnant-maîtrise at the Salpêtrière. In 1750 he was appointed professor of physiology, a position he maintained for forty years. In 1764 he was appointed lifetime secretary to the Académie Royale de Chirurgie
Académie Nationale de Médecine
Académie Nationale de Médecine, or National Academy of Medicine was created in 1820 by king Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the institution was known as the Académie Royale de Médecine...
.
Louis published numerous articles on surgery, including several biographies
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of surgeons who died during his lifetime. He also published the surgical aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s of Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave (1668–1738).
Louis is credited with designing a prototype of the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
. This device however, is named after French physician Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who was an advocate of a more humane method of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. For a period of time after its invention, the guillotine was called a louisette.
Another name for the sternal angle
Sternal angle
The sternal angle or 'angle of Louis', from the Latin angulus Ludovici is the anterior angle formed by the junction of the manubrium and the body of the sternum in the form of a secondary cartilaginous joint . This is also called the manubriosternal joint or Angle of Louis...
is the "angle of Louis", which is the point of junction between the manubrium
Manubrium
The manubrium or manubrium sterni is the broad, upper part of the sternum. Located ventrally with a quadrangular shape, wider superiorly and narrower inferiorly, it articulates with the clavicles and the first two ribs.-Borders:The superior border is the thickest and presents at its center the...
and the body of the sternum.