Figures and institutions of the neurological sciences in Paris from 1800 to 1950. Introduction and Part I: Neuroanatomy

Abstract

We present a short historical review on the major institutions and figures that contributed to make Paris a renowned centre of physiology and neurology during the xixth and the first half of the xxth centuries. We purposely chose to focus on the period 1800-1950, as 1800 corresponds to the development of brain science and 1950 marks the true beginning of neuroscience. Our presentation is divided into four chapters, matching the main disciplines which have progressed and contributed the most to the knowledge we have of the brain sciences: anatomy, physiology, neurology, and psychiatry-psychology. The present article is the first of four parts of this review, which includes an introduction followed by the chapter on neuroanatomy and on anatomo-pathology, which includes biographical sketches of Félix Vicq d'Azyr, François-Xavier Bichat, Franz Joseph Gall, Jean Cruveilhier, Jules Bernard Luys, Paul Broca, Louis Ranvier, André-Victor Cornil, Albert Gombault, Jean Nageotte and René Couteaux.