Joseph Babinski
Encyclopedia
Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski (17 November 1857 – 29 October 1932) was a French
neurologist
of Polish
descent. He is best known for his 1896 description of the Babinski sign, a pathological plantar reflex
indicative of corticospinal tract
damage.
, Babinski was the son of a Polish military officer Aleksander Babinski (b. 1824, d. 1889) and his wife Henryeta Weren Babinski (b. 1819, d. 1897) who in 1848 fled Warsaw
for Paris
because of a Russian reign of terror instigated to stall Polish attempts at achieving independence.
Babinski received his medical degree from the University of Paris
in 1884. He came early to Professor Charcot
at Paris' Salpêtrière Hospital and became his favorite student.
Charcot's 1893 death left Babinski without support, and he subsequently never participated in qualifying academic competitions. Free of teaching duties, while working at the Hôpital de la Pitié he was left with ample time to devote himself to clinical neurology
. He was a masterful clinician, minimally dependent on neuropathological
examinations and laboratory tests.
Babinski also took an interest in the pathogenesis
of hysteria
and was the first to present acceptable differential-diagnostic
criteria for separating hysteria from organic disease
s, and coined the concept of pithiatism
.
In 1896, at a meeting of the Société de Biologie, Babiński, in a 26-line presentation, delivered the first report on the "phenomène des orteils", i.e., that while the normal reflex of the sole of the foot is a plantar reflex
of the toes, an injury to the pyramidal tract will show an isolated dorsal
flexion
of the great toe—"Babinski's sign."
During World War I
, Babinski had charge of many traumatic neurology cases at the Pitié Hospitals.
He was professor
of neurology at the University of Paris
.
Babinski wrote over 200 papers on nervous disorders. With Jules Froment
he published Hysteropithiatisme en Neurologie de Guerre (1917), which was translated into English
in 1918 by Sir H. Rolleston. Babiński published some of his works in Polish
.
Babinski lived with his younger brother, Henri Babinski, a distinguished engineer and famous cook who, as "Ali Baba," published a classic cookbook
.
With Pierre Palau, Babinski, under the pseudonym "Olaf," wrote a disturbing play, Les détraquées, which premiered at the Deux-Masques theater in 1921. The play involves the murder of a young pupil at a girls' school by the school's principal and her accomplice, a dance teacher. André Breton
discusses the work in Nadja.
A genius in neurology, Babinski died in Paris on 13 December 1932, the same year as two great Polish neurologists, Edward Flatau
and Samuel Goldflam
. In his last years he had suffered from Parkinson's disease
.
's Wilno University, by the American Neurological Society, and by other foreign societies.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
neurologist
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
descent. He is best known for his 1896 description of the Babinski sign, a pathological plantar reflex
Plantar reflex
The plantar reflex is a reflex elicited when the sole of the foot is stimulated with a blunt instrument. The reflex can take one of two forms. In normal adults the plantar reflex causes a downward response of the hallux...
indicative of corticospinal tract
Corticospinal tract
The corticospinal or pyramidal tract is a collection of axons that travel between the cerebral cortex of the brain and the spinal cord....
damage.
Life
Born in ParisParis
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...
, Babinski was the son of a Polish military officer Aleksander Babinski (b. 1824, d. 1889) and his wife Henryeta Weren Babinski (b. 1819, d. 1897) who in 1848 fled Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
for 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...
because of a Russian reign of terror instigated to stall Polish attempts at achieving independence.
Babinski received his medical degree from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1884. He came early to Professor Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He is known as "the founder of modern neurology" and is "associated with at least 15 medical eponyms", including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...
at Paris' Salpêtrière Hospital and became his favorite student.
Charcot's 1893 death left Babinski without support, and he subsequently never participated in qualifying academic competitions. Free of teaching duties, while working at the Hôpital de la Pitié he was left with ample time to devote himself to clinical neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
. He was a masterful clinician, minimally dependent on neuropathological
Neuropathology
Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole autopsy brains. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery...
examinations and laboratory tests.
Babinski also took an interest in the pathogenesis
Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of a disease is the mechanism by which the disease is caused. The term can also be used to describe the origin and development of the disease and whether it is acute, chronic or recurrent...
of hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
and was the first to present acceptable differential-diagnostic
Differential diagnosis
A differential diagnosis is a systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of an entity where multiple alternatives are possible , and may also refer to any of the included candidate alternatives A differential diagnosis (sometimes abbreviated DDx, ddx, DD, D/Dx, or ΔΔ) is a...
criteria for separating hysteria from organic disease
Organic disease
An organic disease is one which involves or affects physiology or bodily organs. A disease in which there is a physiological change to some tissue or organ of the body....
s, and coined the concept of pithiatism
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
.
In 1896, at a meeting of the Société de Biologie, Babiński, in a 26-line presentation, delivered the first report on the "phenomène des orteils", i.e., that while the normal reflex of the sole of the foot is a plantar reflex
Plantar reflex
The plantar reflex is a reflex elicited when the sole of the foot is stimulated with a blunt instrument. The reflex can take one of two forms. In normal adults the plantar reflex causes a downward response of the hallux...
of the toes, an injury to the pyramidal tract will show an isolated dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
flexion
Flexion
In anatomy, flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal and muscular systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position. For example the elbow is flexed when the hand is brought closer to the shoulder...
of the great toe—"Babinski's sign."
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Babinski had charge of many traumatic neurology cases at the Pitié Hospitals.
He was professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of neurology at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Babinski wrote over 200 papers on nervous disorders. With Jules Froment
Jules Froment
Jules Froment was a French neurologist. He earned his doctorate in 1906 with a thesis on heart diseases associated with thyrotoxicosis. For much of his career he was a professor at Lyon.-Life:...
he published Hysteropithiatisme en Neurologie de Guerre (1917), which was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 1918 by Sir H. Rolleston. Babiński published some of his works in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
.
Babinski lived with his younger brother, Henri Babinski, a distinguished engineer and famous cook who, as "Ali Baba," published a classic cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
.
With Pierre Palau, Babinski, under the pseudonym "Olaf," wrote a disturbing play, Les détraquées, which premiered at the Deux-Masques theater in 1921. The play involves the murder of a young pupil at a girls' school by the school's principal and her accomplice, a dance teacher. André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
discusses the work in Nadja.
A genius in neurology, Babinski died in Paris on 13 December 1932, the same year as two great Polish neurologists, Edward Flatau
Edward Flatau
Edward Flatau was a Polish neurologist. His work greatly influenced the developing field of neurology. He established neurobiologic and neuropathological sciences in Poland...
and Samuel Goldflam
Samuel Goldflam
Samuel Wulfowicz Goldflam was a Polish neurologist best known for his brilliant 1893 analysis of myasthenia gravis .-Life:...
. In his last years he had suffered from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
Recognition
Babinski lived to see his achievements in French neurology internationally acclaimed. He was honored by PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
's Wilno University, by the American Neurological Society, and by other foreign societies.
Associated eponyms
- Babinski's sign: A pathological reflex where the great toe extends in presence of an injury to the pyramidal tract.
- Anton–Babinski syndrome: A condition characterized by denial of blindnessBlindnessBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
in lesions of the occipital lobeOccipital lobeThe occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. The primary visual cortex is Brodmann area 17, commonly called V1...
. Named with neurologist Gabriel AntonGabriel AntonGabriel Anton was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He is primarily remembered for his studies of psychiatric conditions arising from damage to the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia....
. - Babinski–Fröhlich syndrome or Adiposo-genital syndromeAdiposogenital DystrophyAdiposogenital dystrophy is a condition which may be caused by secondary hypogonadism originating from decreased levels in GnRH. Low levels of GnRH has been associated with defects of the feeding centers of the hypothalamus, leading to an increase consumption of food and thus caloric...
: Condition characterized by feminine obesityObesityObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and sexual infantilism in case of pituitary tumourPituitary tumourThe anterior pituitary secretes a number of hormones including:*Growth hormone *Prolactin *Thyroid-stimulating hormone *Adrenocorticotropic hormone *Melanocyte-stimulating hormone...
s. Named with pharmacologist Alfred FröhlichAlfred FröhlichAlfred Fröhlich was an Austrian-American pharmacologist and neurologist born in Vienna.In 1895 he graduated from the University of Vienna, and afterwards remained at Vienna as an assistant to Carl Nothnagel...
. - Babinski–Froment syndrome: Vasomotor and trophic disorders, diffuse amyotrophyAmyotrophyAmyotrophy is progressive wasting of muscle tissues. Muscle pain is also a symptom. It can occur in middle age males with type 2 diabetes. It also occurs with Motor Neuron Disease.-See also:* Diabetic amyotrophy* Monomelic amyotrophy...
and muscle contractions subsequently to traumatic tissue damage. Named with neurologist Jules FromentJules FromentJules Froment was a French neurologist. He earned his doctorate in 1906 with a thesis on heart diseases associated with thyrotoxicosis. For much of his career he was a professor at Lyon.-Life:...
. - Babinski–Nageotte syndrome: Syndrome seen in unilateral bulbar lesions of the medullobulbar transitional region. Named with neurologist Jean NageotteJean NageotteJean Nageotte was a French neuroanatomist born in Dijon. He obtained his medical degree in Paris in 1893, and afterwards was associated with the Hôpital Bicêtre and Salpêtrière...
. - Babinski–Vaquez syndrome: Tabes dorsalisTabes dorsalisTabes dorsalis is a slow degeneration of the sensory neurons that carry afferent information. The degenerating nerves are in the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and carry information that help maintain a person's sense of position , vibration, and discriminative touch.-Cause:Tabes dorsalis is...
associated with cardiac and arterial pathology as late manifestation of syphilisSyphilisSyphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
. Named with hematologist Louis Henri VaquezLouis Henri VaquezLouis Henri Vaquez was a French physician who practiced medicine in Paris.In 1890 he earned his medical doctorate, and in 1898 became professeur agrégé. In 1918 he was appointed professor of clinical medicine and elected a member of the Academy of Medicine...
. - Babinski–Weil test: Test for demonstration of a laterodeviation in case of vestibular disorders.
- Babinski–Jarkowski rule: For localization of a medullary lesion.
External links
- Biography of Joseph Babinski, from whonamedit.com
- Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski (1857–1932) – short biography by Janusz H. Skalski published in the Journal of NeurologyJournal of NeurologyJournal of Neurology is an academic journal devoted to diseases of the nervous system....