Charles-Philippe Robin (; 4 June 1821 – 6 October 1885) was a French

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, and

histologist Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures visi ...

born in Jasseron, département

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

. He was a founder of the French Society for Biology in which he advocated positivist philosophy in scientific thought.

Life and work

Robin was born in a wealthy family with many physicians particularly on the side of his mother Adelaide Tardy. He went to a boarding school at Menestruel, near Poncin, where he lost an eye which had to be replaced with a prosthesis. He then studied the classics at Collège Royal of Lyons and then in 1838 he went to study medicine in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was more interested in biological research than clinical medicine and while still a student took a scientific journey with

Hermann Lebert Hermann Lebert (born ''Hermann Lewy''; 9 June 1813 – 1 August 1878) was a German physician and naturalist. Biography Lebert was born in Breslau. He studied medicine and the natural sciences first in Berlin and later in Zürich under Johann Luk ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, where they collected specimens for the Musée Orfila. In 1846 he received his medical doctorate with a thesis on the topographical anatomy of the groin region. In 1847 his science doctorate included a thesis on the electric organs of the Rajidae and another on fungal parasites including ''Candida albicans''. After his ''agrégation'' in natural history (1847) he conducted a course in pathology and had a comparative anatomy laboratory. In 1849 he replaced

Achille Richard Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852). Biography Achille was the son of the botanist Louis Claude Richard, Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a p ...

as professor of natural history at the Faculty of Medicine, Paris. Robin's contributions to medical science were many and varied. He was among the first scientists in France to use the

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...

in normal and

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross examination, macroscopic, Histopathology, microscopic, biochemical, immu ...

. He was the first to describe the species ''

Candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

'' (a diploid fungus), and he contributed new information on the micro-structure of

ganglia A ganglion (: ganglia) is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system, this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system, there a ...

and of

neuroglia Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non- neuronal cells in the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and in the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up ...

. He also described the role of

osteoclasts An osteoclast () is a type of bone cell that breaks down bone tissue. This function is critical in the maintenance, repair, and remodeling of bones of the vertebral skeleton. The osteoclast disassembles and digests the composite of hydrated ...

bone formation Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes resulting in th ...

, and he conducted original studies on the electrical organs of '' Rajidae'' (electric skates). Robin was influenced by August Comte's positivist philosophy and he was able to give a unified view of the term ''biologie'' which had been introduced into French by

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

. With

Pierre François Olive Rayer Pierre François Olive Rayer (8 March 1793 – 10 September 1867) was a French physician who was a native of Saint Sylvain. He made important contributions in the fields of pathological anatomy, physiology, comparative pathology and parasitol ...

Claude Bernard Claude Bernard (; 12 July 1813 – 10 February 1878) was a French physiologist. I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". He originated the term ''milieu intérieur'' and the associated c ...

, and

Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard FRS (8 April 1817 – 2 April 1894) was a Mauritian physiologist and neurologist who, in 1850, became the first to describe what is now called Brown-Séquard syndrome. Early life Brown-Séquard was born at Port ...

, he established the

Société de biologie The Société de biologie () is a learned society founded in Paris in 1848. The society was conceived during the French Revolution of 1848. The members of the society held regular meetings and published the proceedings in a new scientific journal. ...

(1848). He was a member of the

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the institu ...

(1858) and Academy of Science (1866). During the Franco-Prussian War he was in charge of the army medical corps. In 1873 he was appointed director of the marine

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

laboratory at

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning "Bay of Cornouaille") is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in Northwestern France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie ...

where he worked with

Georges Pouchet Charles Henri Georges Pouchet (26 February 1833 – 29 March 1894) was a French naturalist and anatomist. He served as a professor of comparative anatomy in the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. He was also involved in marine biology studies, with an ...

. In 1875 he was elected to the Senate for Ain. Around this time he began to question the cell theory, rebel against many scientific practices and refused to accept new discoveries. Robin was a prolific writer, being the author of over 300 written articles during his lifetime. With

Émile Littré Émile Maximilien Paul Littré (; 1 February 18012 June 1881) was a French lexicographer, freemason and philosopher, best known for his , commonly called . Biography Littré was born in Paris. His father, Michel-François Littré, had been a gu ...

he published a revision of Pierre-Hubert Nysten’s ''Dictionnaire de médecine, de chirurgie'', etc. The eponymous Virchow-Robin spaces are named after him and

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow ( ; ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder o ...

. Virchow-Robin spaces are

lymphatic Lymph () is the fluid that flows through the lymphatic system, a system composed of lymph vessels (channels) and intervening lymph nodes whose function, like the venous system, is to return fluid from the tissues to be recirculated. At the origi ...

spaces between the vessels of the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...

Selected writings

* ''Tableaux d’anatomie''. Paris, 1851. * ''Anatomie microscopique''. 1868. * ''Programme du cours d’histologie''. 1870. * ''Traité du microscope, son mode d’emploi, son application'', 1871. * ''Anatomie et physiologie cellulaire, animale et végétale''. Paris, 1873. * ''Mémoire sur le développement embryogénique des hirudinées''. 1874. * ''L’instruction et l’éducation''. 1877. * ''Nouveau dictionnaire abrége de médecine''. Paris, 1886

References

External links

''Charles-Philippe Robin''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robin, Charles-Philippe French anatomists French biologists French histologists Members of the French Academy of Sciences 1821 births 1885 deaths People from Ain