Paul Georges Dieulafoy (18 November 1839 – 16 August 1911) was a French

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

. He is best known for his study of

acute appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications o ...

and his description of

Dieulafoy's lesion Dieulafoy's lesion () is a medical condition characterized by a large tortuous artery most commonly in the stomach wall (submucosal) that erodes and bleeds. It can present in any part of the gastrointestinal tract. It can cause gastric hemorrhage b ...

, a rare cause of gastric bleeding.

Life, studies, and career

Dieulafoy was born in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. He studied 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 ...

and earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1869. In 1863, during his third year of medical school, Dieulafoy went to Paris to attend the clinical department of Professor Armand Trousseau. The two men remained close until the former's death in 1867, with Dieulafoy being referred to as Trousseau's spiritual son. Dieulafoy later led an ambulance service at the Holy Trinity Church of Paris during the

Franco-Prussian war The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, became Chief of Medicine at the famed

Hôtel-Dieu de Paris In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu () was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris being the oldest an ...

, taught

pathology 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 ...

in the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, and was elected president of the

French Academy of Medicine French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

in 1910 after being a member since 1890. Dieulafoy married his cousin Claire Bessaignet in 1872, however the couple remained childless their entire marriage. He died in Paris on 16 August 1911 after post-surgery complications, and was buried in Montmartre cemetery.

Contributions

He perfected a pump-like device for use in

thoracentesis Thoracentesis , also known as thoracocentesis (), pleural tap, needle thoracostomy, or needle decompression (often used term), is an invasive medical procedure to remove fluid or air from the pleural space for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. ...

, and extensively studied

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

and

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

conditions including

hydatid disease Hydatid may refer to: * Echinococcosis * ''Echinococcus granulosus'', known as the hydatid tapeworm * Hydatid of Morgagni The hydatid of Morgagni can refer to one of two closely related bodily structures: * Appendix of testis (in the male) * Para ...

and epidemic

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

. However, he is perhaps best known for his study of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. Dieulafoy described its early symptoms and clinical manifestations in detail, most notably the collection of symptoms now known as Dieulafoy's triad (more below), and was one of the first physicians to stress the importance of

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

in the treatment of this condition. He declared: "''Le traitement médical de l'appendicite aiguë n'existe pas'' (The medical treatment of acute appendicitis does not exist)". His ''Handbook of Internal Pathology'', published from 1880 to 1884, was widely used at the time. Between 1899 and 1910 he also published, in several volumes, the case reports from his private practice. In 1890, Dieulafoy,

André Chantemesse André Chantemesse (23 October 1851 – 25 February 1919) was a French bacteriologist born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. From 1880 to 1885 he served as ''interne des hôpitaux'' in Paris, earning his doctorate in 1884 with a dissertation on a ...

and

Georges-Fernand Widal Georges-Fernand-Isidor Widal (March 9, 1862 in Dellys, Algeria – January 14, 1929 in Paris) was a French physician. From 1886 to 1888 he devoted himself to public demonstrations of the researches of the faculty of pathological anatomy, and duri ...

described a pulmonary condition found in persons who habitually fed pigeons in the streets. They termed it "mycotic pseudotuberculosis", now known as

allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a condition characterised by an exaggerated response of the immune system (a hypersensitivity response) to the fungus ''Aspergillus'' (most commonly '' Aspergillus fumigatus''). It occurs most ofte ...

Eponyms

: the protrusion of an

arteriole An arteriole is a small-diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillary, capillaries. Arterioles have vascular smooth muscle, muscular walls (usually only one to two layers of smoo ...

through the gastric

mucosa A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It ...

, usually found just below the

gastroesophageal junction The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus ( archaic spelling) ( see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), colloquially known also as the food pipe, food tube, or gullet, ...

; subsequent rupture of the arteriole is a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding *Dieulafoy's triad:

hyperesthesia Hyperesthesia is a condition that involves an abnormal increase in sensitivity to stimuli of the senses. Stimuli of the senses can include sound that one hears, foods that one tastes, textures that one feels, and so forth. Increased touch sensi ...

of the skin, exquisite tenderness and guarding over

McBurney's point McBurney's point is the point over the right side of the abdomen that is one-third of the distance from the anterior superior iliac spine to the Navel, umbilicus (navel). This is near the most common location of the Vermiform appendix, appendix. ...

, considered a classic

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

*Dieulafoy's apparatus: a pump-like device to evacuate fluid from the

pleural cavity The pleural cavity, or pleural space (or sometimes intrapleural space), is the potential space between the pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous pleural fluid is maintained in the pleural cavity to enabl ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dieulafoy, Paul Georges Physicians from Toulouse 1839 births 1911 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French surgeons