Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 720.5

FRANçOIS POURFOUR DU PETIT (1664-1741) Memoire dans lequel il est démontré que les nerfs intercostaux fournissent des rameaux qui portent des esprits dans les yeux. l’Imprimerie royale 1727 p. [1]-19, [1] folded leaf of plates : ill. 26 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 720

A landmark paper on the intercostal nerves which du Petit showed did not have a cerebral origin; “Through brilliant experiements on dogs, Pourfour du Petit showed that whatever the site of superficial origin of the sympathetic chain, it was not in the cranium. It is remarkable that, although his results were definitive, they were largely ignored until the nineteenth century.” (DSB, 11:112) Pourfour du Petit also described what is not commonly known as Horner’s Syndrome, a disruption of the nerve pathway to the eyes and face.

Cited references: Morton, 764

Gift of John Martin, M.D.