The purpose of this study is to summarize the life and work of the French anatomist and surgeon Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769). Ferrein made an impact in the history of anatomy and physiology through his work and especially with the description of phonation, renal anatomy, and liver and biliary structure. He also made an impact on ophthalmology with the description of the eyelid and its diseases. After a thorough review of the literature, we present in this review his life and his main discoveries with special emphasis on the anatomic description of the vocal chords resembling the chords of a violin tempered by the air exhaled from the lungs and how the physiology of phonation and the surgery of the larynx were revolutionized after that.
Keywords: Antoine Ferrein; history of anatomy; medical biography; renal anatomy; vocal chords.