Maurice Villaret was a French neurologist

Neurologist

A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...

 who was born in 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...

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In 1906 he received his medical doctorate 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 1919 he became médecin des hôpitaux in Paris, and subsequently served as médecin chef at the Hôpital Necker. In 1927 he became a professor of hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...

 and climatology

Climatology

Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...

, and in 1939 was appointed clinical professor at the Hôpital Broussais.

He is remembered for his studies and experiments involving precision localization of vascular lesions of the brain. In 1917 he described what was to become known as "Villaret's syndrome". This syndrome is characterized by an ipsilateral paralysis

Paralysis

Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...

 of cranial nerves

Cranial nerves

Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge directly from the brain, in contrast to spinal nerves, which emerge from segments of the spinal cord. In humans, there are traditionally twelve pairs of cranial nerves...

 numbers IX ,X, XI, XII, and sometimes cranial nerve number VII, and it can also involve the cervical ganglia

Cervical ganglia

The cervical ganglia are paravertebral ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system. These emerging postganglionic nerves synapse with preganglionic nerves from the thoracic spinal cord. They consist of three paravertebral ganglia:* superior cervical ganglion...

 of the sympathetic trunk

Sympathetic trunk

The sympathetic trunks are a paired bundle of nerve fibers that run from the base of the skull to the coccyx.-Structure:...

. Paralysis is caused by a lesion

Lesion

A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...

 in the posterior retroparotid space

Parotid gland

The paired parotid glands are the largest of the salivary glands. They are each found wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and secrete saliva through Stensen's ducts into the oral cavity, to facilitate mastication and swallowing and to begin the digestion of starches.-Location:The parotid glands...

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With his mentor Augustin Nicolas Gilbert

Augustin Nicolas Gilbert

Augustin Nicolas Gilbert was a French physician who was born in the town of Buzancy, Ardennes. He received his doctorate from the University of Paris and became an interne at the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris. Later he was a professor of therapeutics and clinical medicine at Hôtel-Dieu...

 (1858-1927), Villaret performed extensive research involving the physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 of the portal venous system

Portal venous system

In human anatomy, the hepatic portal system is the system of veins comprising the hepatic portal vein and its tributaries. It is also called the portal venous system, although it is not the only example of a portal venous system, and splanchnic veins, which is not synonymous with hepatic portal...

, and had particular interest in the causes of portal hypertension

Portal hypertension

In medicine, portal hypertension is hypertension in the portal vein and its tributaries.It is often defined as a portal pressure gradient of 10 mmHg or greater.-Causes:Causes can be divided into prehepatic, intrahepatic, and posthepatic...

. He also undertook several pathological

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

 studies of cirrhosis

Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...

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