René Leriche was a famous French surgeon

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

.

Eponymous terms

René Leriche gave his name to two syndromes:

• Leriche's syndrome
  Leriche's syndrome
  In medicine, aortoiliac occlusive disease, also known as Leriche's syndrome and Leriche syndrome, is atherosclerotic occlusive disease involving the abdominal aorta and/or both of the iliac arteries.-Symptoms:...
  
   - Impotence and buttock claudication
  Intermittent claudication
  Intermittent claudication is a clinical diagnosis given for muscle pain , classically in the calf muscle, which occurs during exercise, such as walking, and is relieved by a short period of rest.Claudication derives from the Latin verb claudicare, "to limp".-Signs:One of the hallmarks of arterial...
  
   and absent pulses in the groin and legs due to saddle embolus
  Embolism
  In medicine, an embolism is the event of lodging of an embolus into a narrow capillary vessel of an arterial bed which causes a blockage in a distant part of the body.Embolization is...
  
   or atherosclerosis at the aortic
  Aorta
  The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
  
   bifurcation.
• Sudek-Leriche syndrome - Aseptic necrosis of bone following injury (=Sudek atrophy)

Career

Born in Roanne

Roanne

Roanne is a commune in the Loire department in central France.It is located northwest of Lyon on the Loire River.-Economy:...

 the son of a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 Leriche began his career in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

. In 1924 he was appointed Professor of Surgery at the University of Strasbourg

University of Strasbourg

The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....

. In 1927 he was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Royal College of Surgeons of England

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...

. He was the first surgeon to be made Professeur au Collège de France

Collège de France

The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...

.

He was a technically gifted surgeon and had flair for teaching. This attracted students to him - many of whom became renowned in their own right. He emphasised the importance of regarding the patient as a whole - the holistic

Holistic health

Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine...

 approach.

He devised a surgical procedure, the sympathectomy, to increase blood flow within arteries.

He was awarded the Lister Medal in 1939 for his contributions to surgical science. The corresponding Lister Memorial Lecture, delivered that same year at the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Royal College of Surgeons of England

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...

, was titled 'The Listerian Idea in 1939'.

In 1958, a French postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 was issued with his name and portrait on it.

Personality

Leriche was a flamboyant character who enjoyed French cuisine

French cuisine

French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...

 and fine wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

. He had a fine collection of art (one of his patients was Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...

). He was an excellent public speaker who never needed notes.